Zero Archive: Subjects S5
by Xelrog
Summary: I am known as Zero, god of truth and passion. It is my mission to enlighten those who are lost to themselves by reawakening the passions that lay dormant in the heart of Man. This, of course, is the present. The archive before you, however, is one from long ago, chronicling an early experience... with my very first disciples. (WARNING: Adult content)
1. Introduction

This is a record of my first experiment. In it, I will be attempting to influence this world by establishing a small group of disciples: a group of friends who will be undergoing training simultaneously. The subjects have already been chosen, and represent a wide variety of physiologies, personalities, and skillsets. In order, they are:

• Subject S1: Usagi Tsukino, code name Moon. Age fifteen; hair, blonde. Somewhat childish and naïve, but good at bringing people together. She tends to follow fads and is a wide-eyed romantic.

• Subject S2: Ami Mizuno, code name Mercury. Age fifteen; hair, blue. Very intelligent and cautious, a born strategist. Her scholastic nature leads her to question everything—a good trait to have, making her very difficult to fool.

• Subject S3: Makoto "Mako" Kino, code name Jupiter. Age fifteen; hair, brown. She is physically adept, and notably tall for her age. She fancies herself a skilled fighter, but has a soft spot for romance, regardless of it historically not working out for her.

• Subject S4: Minako "Mina" Aino, code name Venus. Age fifteen; hair, blonde. Very average, save for a mild fixation on superheroism. Gets along well with almost anyone. Also harbors a deep, unfulfilled interest in the opposite sex.

• Subject S5: Rei Hino, code name Mars. Age fifteen; hair, black. She is proud and willful, almost to the point of contrarianism. She takes her duties as a shrine maiden very seriously, and has little patience for those less serious than her. In short, a real stick in the mud. She will take some work.

These five share a unique bond of teamwork whilst fighting as heroines of justice, as well as a bond of friendship while living their civilian lives. They are inherently bound together by an unseen force that seems to be present in this world, making them ideal candidates for this group trial. It is my hope that undergoing training as a team will ease the transition for them. I have decided, thus, to employ these girls in spreading my ideals as the god of passion throughout this world.


	2. Chapter 1: Moon

NOTE: The four Chapter 1's can be read in any order.

* * *

"Come, come," the cloaked mystic beckoned her.

Usagi was something of a scaredy-cat, and normally, a spooky old tent in a dark alley run by a hooded no-face would have raised some red flags. But she was also a bright-eyed romantic, and after hearing all the rumors going around about a fortune teller who was never wrong, and who specialized in love readings no less, she was too excited to care about the creepy setting. Everyone who had come to this tent couldn't stop raving about it. Some of the other girls in line had gotten cold feet and turned tail after seeing the place. They'd regret it later, that she felt sure of.

With a smile that feigned obliviousness, Usagi sat, eager as could be.

"Okay, so how's this work?" she asked excitedly. "Are we gonna burn incense? Crystal ball? Ooh! Or maybe…"

The mystic raised his (her?) palm to silence her. After a pause, he pointed to Usagi's hand, wordlessly, then laid his own out on the table, waiting.

 _Palm reading? How lame_ , Usagi thought to herself. She had been hoping for a more exciting method of fortunetelling than old-fashioned palm reading or tarot cards. Nonetheless, she humored doubt and placed her hand palm-up on the reader's. The reader then cupped her hand in his, holding it in place, and with his free hand, placed his index finger in her palm.

 _Not like I haven't done this a million times_ , Usagi complained internally. To her surprise, however, the reader didn't keep his finger in her palm, but instead began to move up to her wrist. The unexpected motion caused Usagi to jump only slightly, and she turned her full attention back to the mystic's hand to see what he was going to do next.

Gently, his finger traced the tendon in her wrist up her forearm, slowly meandering its way across her now-goosebump-ridden skin to the soft spot on the inside of her elbow. He pressed just a little more firmly, as if feeling her pulse. This was a strange fortune teller, indeed.

After 10 seconds or so of holding his finger against her inner elbow, the mystic finally spoke.

"Well aren't you the lucky one," he mused, in whispered tone. "You're going to meet him, today. It will be a most fortuitous encounter."

"Really?!" Usagi was thrilled. "What's he like? How will it happen? I'm not missing it now, am I? Should I still be here?"

The mystic shook his head, solemnly, then pointed to the exit. Usagi bolted as quickly as she could, paying no mind to how incredibly short and vague her reading had really been. She ran down the alley, past the small line, out towards the main street, when…

WHAM!

Next thing she could tell, Usagi was on her butt on the pavement, and quite sore. The tears were already about to start, but when she opened her eyes and looked ahead, she saw something unexpected.

"Are you… all right?"

The voice belonged to a boy who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, and a real looker at that. Sheen, pristine, neck-length black hair; well-built physique, wearing a form-fitting dress jacket… perfect skin, gentle face. A straight 10, easy.

Usagi couldn't help but stare at the stranger, also on the ground, for an uncomfortable length of time.

"Hello?"

"O-oh! Yeah! I'm here, I mean, I'm fine. Good as new," she insisted with a smile, hiding the habitual tears that had started to well up in the corners of her eyes.

"That's good. I'd hate to see a pretty girl like you hurt," he said, casually complimenting her as he brushed himself off.

"Eh?" _He moves fast_ , Usagi thought to herself. Good thing for her, though. In fact… wait, could the fortune teller's prediction already be coming true? Talk about imminence.

"I suppose I should watch where I'm going," the boy mused.

"Oh! No, no! It's not your fault!" Usagi replied, almost eagerly. She wasn't good at masking when she was nervous. She again stopped to take a closer look at his face and realized something. "Are you… blind?"

Each of his eyes was an empty white abyss.

"Well… kind of," he answered, noncommittal. "I get by."

The two picked themselves up off the ground before continuing.

"I actually just arrived in town and was looking for a place to get something to eat. I don't suppose you're… a local?"

"Y-yeah!" Usagi replied. She liked where this was going.

"This may be forward of me, but perhaps you'd like to join me for dinner? You pick the place, my treat."

Nevermind that it was only a little after four, still early for dinner—that fortune teller had been spot on. No wonder the rumors about the place were spreading like wildfire. Here she'd found a date who was a nice guy, had a great bod… sure, he might have a quirk or two, but he was even offering to treat her!

"Sure!" she shot back. Oh, but where to go?

"Price is no object," he postulated, "so pick someplace you really want to go. I trust you know what's good."

 _Wow. Is this guy rich, too? What a catch_ , she thought to herself. _He said anywhere, so…_

The pair wound up going to a somewhat ritzy café Usagi had never been to, but had always heard had the best sorbet treats in the city. She'd always, always, always wanted to try them. After half a sandwich and the first half of a terrific raspberry bowl, the conversation started to open up a little bit.

"You asked where I was from earlier… right?"

Usagi nodded innocently, spoon hanging daintily out of her mouth.

"Well… I suppose I can tell you," he said, thinking aloud to himself. It seemed he was debating, choosing his words carefully. "I gave you my name already, but there's something I didn't tell you. I wouldn't feel right hiding it from you."

 _That's good_ , Usagi thought. _Honesty is good_.

"I am Zero," he began, "and I am a god."

Usagi stared blankly, waiting for the punchline. None came.

"Your name is Usagi Tsukino. Your birthday is June 30th, blood type O. Your best friend is Naru Osaka, and your other friends… well, I won't say too much in public, but I know what kind of adventures you've been going on with them."

Whoever he was, he had her number. Could he actually be a new enemy? Usagi started to panic.

"Oh, don't worry," Zero motioned, trying to act reassuring. "I won't tell a soul. I wasn't trying to threaten you. Just a little bit of mind-reading to prove myself, is all. I didn't dig up anything too private."

Usagi pouted. "Excuse me, ALL of my thoughts are supposed to be private."

Zero was smiling, as if nothing was wrong. "Well," he said, "as the god of passion, I take my honor very seriously. If it will make it up to you, feel free to ask me anything at all about myself. I'm an open book."

 _Passion, huh? What a weird thing to be the god of._

"I heard that," said Zero.

"Get out of there," said Usagi, waving her hand as if to shoo him out of her mind. "Anyway, you never answered my question before… where'd you come from exactly?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I'm from another world, in many ways like this one. I travel from universe to universe looking for a disciple in each world to help me spread my virtues throughout the multiverse… er, omniverse? Well, anyway, to make each world a better place."

"A disciple? Like a priestess or something?" Usagi immediately thought of her friend Rei.

"Not necessarily," he answered. "It could be anyone, as long as they're willing to make a contract with me."

"You mean you have them sign a piece of paper?"

"It's not quite that kind of contract," Zero laughed. He rimmed the edge of his glass, curiously. "What has you so interested, anyway? Were you thinking of possibly…?"

"Ah! Oh! No! I didn't mean…!" Usagi panicked, waving her hands in a frantic attempt at denial. When Zero didn't react, she slinked back in her seat, feeling a little embarrassed. "I mean… there's no way someone like me could do that, right?"

"Oh? Why would you say that?" he asked her.

"Working for a god… no way," she sighed. "Look at me. I'm not that smart, or strong, or… or… I mean, any of my friends would be better picks…"

Zero stared at her, not reacting to her self-degradation.

"Your friends? You mean the scouts?"

"Eh?" Usagi perked at the mention and looked around the room quickly to see if anyone was listening in on them. It was an innocuous enough term that no one would know they were talking about superheroines… probably. She felt she should probably question how Zero knew about the five of them, but… if anything, it just proved that he really was a god, like he claimed.

"Y-yeah, them," she finally replied. "I'm not really anything special, I'm afraid." She said this with her hand behind her head in an apologetic laugh, as if she felt the need to make an excuse for herself.

"That's not true at all," Zero said bluntly.

"Huh?"

Suddenly he had Usagi's attention.

"It's true that you're not the best strategist, or the strongest fighter, or the bravest person in the world…"

Wherever he was going with this, it wasn't helping her confidence thus far.

"…but those things aren't necessarily what make a leader. You were able to bring the people with those qualities together, and keep them together. And more than that…" Zero paused. "You have a quality that is most rare and admirable. You have a genuine compassion for life. You hate to see anyone suffer, no matter who they are. Let me tell you, Usagi, as a being involved in the creation of all things… you have no idea how rare and beautiful that is."

For a moment, reality seemed to stop. The café fell silent, as if she and Zero were the only two people in the world. She looked deep into his empty eyes, somehow so full of passion and feeling despite their hollow appearance. To him, she could tell, every word he had just spoken was the absolute truth. His conviction was almost tangible.

"You really… think all that is true?" she asked, a single tear forming in the corner of her eye.

The restaurant returned to life as the two sat there, meeting each other's gazes.

"Of course," replied Zero. "On my honor as a god."

"You've been watching me, haven't you?" Usagi questioned.

"You could say that I've done my homework," Zero claimed. "It's not as if I know all of your deepest secrets, but I've seen you and your friends in action. I know as much about you as your friends do. And I think if you asked them, they would say the same things about you that I just did."

"Even Rei?"

"Well… she might not say it out loud, anyway."

Usagi giggled. He knew the girls, all right. And even though the way he'd phrased it sounded a little sinister, she believed him when he said that he didn't know ALL her secrets. He seemed like a very good-natured person to her.

"By the way…" Zero started, pointing down. "Your ice cream… it's soup."

Usagi glanced down at her dish. He was right. What a waste. She couldn't help it, and pouted at the loss of her expensive ice cream, tears again welling in her eyes.

Then Zero reached over and placed his hand over her dish, silently. Usagi watched, her curiosity piqued, as it made a swirling motion and the sorbet rose up and re-froze before her eyes. He then withdrew to his own side of the table, as if nothing noteworthy had just happened.

"You know, if you really were interested in becoming my disciple, I could make it happen," he said.

"Really?!" she said, excitedly.

"That's right," Zero replied. "You would be helping me spread my virtues to people, make the world a better place. You make that commitment to me, and you'll have all of my power at your disposal."

"At my… disposal?"

"Small things like this…" He pointed to her ice cream. "…or, even big things. Say the word and I could protect the whole city. You and your friends would never have to fight again."

Never have to fight again? Never have to save the world from ultimate evil? Never have a day ruined by a monster springing a trap at the local hair salon, or pet shelter, or haberdashery? That would be… a dream come true. Usagi could imagine nothing more appealing than going back to leading a normal, average life with her friends and family. The superhero life was something that had been unceremoniously thrust upon her, and ever since what had happened with Queen Metalia, Usagi had been haunted by the thought of what horrors the future might bring.

Without another word, Usagi had made up her mind.

"All right… how do we make it happen?"

* * *

"Waaah… do I really have to?"

Usagi's whine trailed in from the adjacent room. It was still very much a habit of hers, but Zero was little if not patient.

"Would you rather keep fighting monsters?" he shouted. The sword of pragmatism cut deep, and slowly, Usagi crept around the corner, sniffling gently, trying in futility to cover up her bare, exposed skin.

"Honestly, I don't know what it is you're so ashamed of," he said, walking towards her gently. He approached her the way one might approach a frightened animal. "You're very-"

"S… scary!" Usagi interrupted him, stopping him dead in his tracks. It took him a moment to process what it was she was talking about. Zero followed Usagi's again-tear-laden eyes down to where it was she was gazing. It was Zero's little friend.

The divine one sighed, exasperated.

"I don't mind putting my clothes back on if that's what you want," he said. "I don't even need to be-"

"That's not fair!" Usagi scolded. "If I've gotta get naked, then so do you!" Now she was back to pouting. This girl could be such a child. But, in its own way, that too was an endearing trait. Zero smiled.

"Well all right, then, there should be no problem."

Usagi looked uncertain, as one would expect any ordinary girl to look when faced with such a seemingly unthinkable situation as this one. Here she was being asked to have sex in order to save the world. She hadn't signed up to fight monsters when she became a sailor scout, but she hadn't signed up for this, either.

"Relax," Zero tried to reassure her. "It's not as bad as all you're thinking. It'll be short and sweet, like a massage—you might as well let yourself enjoy it."

"Remind me again why it is we have to do this?" Usagi asked.

"This is how the contract is made," Zero explained. "The two of us have to share a bond of intimate trust. Even if it's just for a second."

"Just a second, huh?" Usagi affirmed. "Well, all right, then, but that's all you're getting, you hear?"

"As you wish, Princess," replied Zero, phoning in a bow. Usagi could only pout at the apparent jab, but just long enough for Zero to step forward and take her in his arms, to her surprise.

Usagi didn't know how to react. She'd had her first kiss already, but… this was the first time she'd hugged a boy naked before. This feeling was totally new. And speaking of feeling things for the first time…

There was another something new pressing firmly against her stomach.

It was hot. She could feel the heat radiating off that part of Zero, and she could also feel it pulsing, matching the heartbeat so faint against her breast right now. Usagi had never known the feeling of being so attuned with someone else… and truth be told, she was starting to think there was something amazing about it.

But regardless of any synapses able to meet in the conscious mind over the course of a second, the subconscious loves to take precedence. Usagi instinctively pulled away from Zero's embrace, heart racing. There was a pause between them.

"Was that too much?" he asked.

"N-no, you just… surprised me, is all…" Usagi stammered. In her mind, however, she was giggling, giddy. _That was great!_ she thought. _I never knew something could feel like that, so… bonding!_

Part of this sensation was her young hormones running wild, of course, but for someone like Usagi who had always had a deep yearning for a fairy tale romance of her own, the idea of a prince—er, god—coming to sweep her off her metaphorical feet in a swirling storm of passion was exactly the sort of thing she had always dreamed of.

A little smile overcame her little face as her subconscious gradually came to accept the idea her imagination was positing, even welcome it. Now that she'd had a moment to prepare, she felt ready for Zero, whatever more he had planned for this encounter.

"So, uh… what's… what's next?" she asked, shyly.

"Are you ready?" he asked, gently.

"Y-yeah," she affirmed, no longer feeling the need to hide her body from him.

Zero once again stepped closer, this time placing his hand on the side of her neck. Closer still, his face approached hers, brushing cheeks only for a moment as he softly kissed the opposite side of her neck. His hand slid down Usagi's thin, modest body, giving her a slight chill as it creased around the back of her arm, down her side, and onto her thigh.

Zero's face, meanwhile, moved slowly up, back again towards Usagi's. She could feel his breath just below her ear, ever so slightly, tickling her earlobe. She was already putty in her master's hands.

With adept sleight of hand, Zero's caress finally made its way to Usagi's special place—a place not explored by the male sex. As expected, the girl gasped and tensed up at first contact. No amount of preparation was enough to ready her for the real thing, but right now, she felt she could trust Zero with her very life… or at the very least, with what the two of them were doing at present. Usagi did not resist, and allowed him to continue.

Rubbing and kneading, teasing, his knuckle meandered around the small opening, urging Usagi to hope for more, wait for the main course. Her mind fell for it, following along all too willingly. She was not only romantic, but curious, especially when it came to anything that seemed new and fun. What they were doing now was definitely new to her senses.

By the time Zero's lips had made it to the crease of Usagi's, his fingers had started to get more technical, and his free hand had found its way to one of her small breasts. The attack on three fronts had begun. Usagi was more willing than ever to take the full brunt of the assault. In fact, she'd started to let loose a couple of noises that she'd never heard herself make before.

This continued, Zero's masterful massaging quickly melting any remaining caution or doubt on Usagi's part, forcing her to give in to the sensations she was now feeling as the warm body of her partner pressed against her own. And he wasn't even using his equipment.

As it turned out, there was no need. In short, all too short, moments, Usagi had reached her climax, collapsing on her bed with Zero after their surprisingly effective standing encounter. As soon as she convulsed, his motions began to slow, then stop, allowing her the chance to recover.

Her breathing was heavy, and she could feel the dampness of her own skin. Even though it had only been Zero's hands, it felt infinitely better than anything she had ever felt doing it by herself… was it because of his technique, or was it the simple fact that she'd had someone else to do it with that made all the difference?

As Usagi thought these thoughts to herself in her moment of reverie, Zero lay beside her with a smile.

"Our contract is made."


	3. Chapter 1: Mercury

NOTE: The four Chapter 1's can be read in any order.

* * *

Studying was Ami's life. Well… that, and being a superheroine of justice. But mostly studying. Day in, day out, Ami earned her spot at the top of the testing brackets. And truth be told, it wasn't so bad—in fact, much of the time, she enjoyed it. Ever since she had decided to go into medicine, her mother had been nothing but supportive, giving her everything she could to advance her education.

But to go this far… well, it was certainly a strange measure to take.

"Don't be alarmed, sweetie, he's a professional."

That's what her mother's note had said. She must have had a lot of faith in this organization, whoever they were, to let a naked man alone in the house with her daughter, whatever the situation.

"Hello," he said. "Ami, was it?"

"That's… right," she answered, cautiously. Even with all the preparation she had been given (which itself only went so far as a note she'd found after school that day), Ami was rightfully wary in the presence of this stranger.

"I suppose your mother has told you about me already, yes?" the boy said. "I'm a male model…"

 _Obviously_ , Ami thought to herself, trying to keep her eyes from venturing southward.

"…who works with students of medicine for the sake of hands-on study. You can call me Zero."

"That's a very unique name," she mused.

"I was quite surprised your mother asked me to come on a day she would be away from the house," he told her.

"It would be more surprising if you caught her in," Ami sighed. "She's not home often. By the way…" she not-so-subtly changed the subject, "was it necessary for you to already be naked when I got here?"

Ami wore a nervous smile that made it obvious to Zero that she was judging him. One couldn't blame her, in this situation.

"Well… this may sound silly, but it's a little awkward to undress in front of a lady," he said. "We're also not supposed to use bathrooms or changing rooms at a client's home, as they think it'll create sexual tension while the client is waiting for me to come out. …Oh dear, this sounds so robotic when I use the word 'client…' Anyway, I want to establish that my work is not at all sexual in nature."

"Yes, I would assume not," Ami replied, somewhat impatiently. "So what you're saying is, you're a living mannequin, for medical students to study anatomy with?"

"Exactly so."

"While I don't doubt such a service exists," she started, circling around the boy to better observe his features, "I have to question how someone as young as yourself could come to work in such a service. You're hardly older than I am."

Zero laughed. "You'd be surprised how often I get that, but I'm older than I look."

Ami stared at him, long and hard.

"If you say so," she acquiesced. "But I don't know that I really need your… services."

"Oh?"

"I've learned all I really need to learn about anatomy, male or otherwise, from my texts. I don't think I would learn much from a physical specimen."

Zero stopped to consider her words for a moment, then shrugged.

"I'm a model, not a tutor. It's not my job to force you to study," he concluded. "I would feel sorry for your mother, though, as much as she spent in hiring me for the evening."

That much was true. Hiring a medical model couldn't have been cheap. Not only that, but Ami had been withdrawn from cram school for the day, so that was a day wasted. She hadn't even known why her mother had requested Ami be off today until now. Ami wished that the two of them had a better line of communication than just the notes they would leave for one another at home. Such is the busy life of a doctor.

It would be a slap in the face to her mother to kick Zero out and ignore his services. It wouldn't be any more right than skipping classes would, and if she didn't do any studying at all tonight, she would functionally be doing both.

"Well… all right." Ami finally surrendered to her better judgement. "You'll just stand there, then?"

"I'm yours to command," he answered. "Place me in a pose, ask me to explain something… I'll serve your needs to the best of my knowledge and ability."

He certainly spoke like a professional, at least. Now that Ami got a good look at him, she couldn't have asked for a much better specimen. Well… not to look at, at least. He was somewhat tall, clean shaven, and boasting a fair bit of musculature. He did seem to have a rather large scar on his torso, though, and…

Ami squinted to see clearly.

"I don't mean to be rude, but are you… blind?"

"You could say that," he replied through blank, white eyes. What a curious way of answering a simple yes/no question. Why the ambiguity, Ami wondered?

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize," she said, feeling only slightly guilty for being so critical of him. She wanted to ask about the scar, as well, but didn't want to nose about his past. Clearly, it had been an eventful one.

"No need to apologize," he laughed. "If I had insecurities about me or my body, I would have a very hard time doing this job. By all means, ask me anything you like. It's what I'm here for."

Very professional, indeed. Ami gave it another thought.

"Do you shave?"

"Actually, my body hair has been permanently removed."

"Wouldn't it be more educational if it were in its natural state?"

"Some have said that. The counterpoint is that it makes seeing everything more difficult, so… the company generally leaves the decision up to the individual model."

"I see." That much was true—she certainly had no trouble seeing of all of his fine details right now. Smooth as a baby dolphin. "All right, then, please stay there a moment."

Zero obliged as Ami left to dig something out of her closet. After a few moments, she emerged with a small leather bag.

"To tell the truth, I didn't think I would be using this before university," she admitted. Opening the bag, she pulled out a small stethoscope, a blood pressure meter, and some latex gloves. It looked to be a basic medical examination kit, probably a gift from her mother.

With minimal fanfare, Ami proceeded to put the equipment to the test on Zero. He cooperated with her the whole way.

"You're a very relaxed person, aren't you?" she asked.

"You can tell?"

"Your blood pressure is rather low, and your heartbeat is very calm," she analyzed.

"Is that bad?"

"At present, no. Not as long as you haven't been having any fainting spells," she explained while putting away the electronic device. "If pressure is too low, it makes it difficult for blood to reach the extremities, or even the brain."

Ami turned around and placed her index finger on Zero's carotid artery. Her other hand went to the scarring on his chest. Both paused for several silent moments. Zero considered asking what she was doing, but his job was to oblige Ami, not his own curiosity.

"Pardon me. I was just curious if your scar might have made the stethoscope any less accurate," she finally stated. "The tissue is so deep… how long have you had it?"

"Since my birth," he answered.

"Oh my," Ami exclaimed. "Infant surgery?"

"I believe it was some sort of surgery, yes."

"What a shame, to have left such a mark after all this time…"

Both were silent.

"…oh! Not that I meant anything by it!"

Zero laughed his unoffended laugh. "Of course not, think nothing of it."

Ami pondered to herself. She had just learned something very intimate, perhaps very traumatic, about this stranger she had found naked in her bedroom as part of some strange medical student program. She knew, of course, that this was all a matter of business to him. He'd probably not come here today expecting to talk about his past, whatever it might be.

Her soft hand still rested on Zero's torso. Realizing how long it had been there, Ami glanced down at it a moment and noticed something else in her peripheral vision… something which appeared to be standing up to greet her. Ami couldn't help it. She stared.

"That, uh…" Zero started, a little shy. "That will happen sometimes."

"Are you sure you do this professionally?" Ami questioned, slightly scolding. "Or does this happen with all your 'clients?'"

"Only the pretty ones," Zero said. Ami was not amused. "Oh, come now," he protested, "it would be cruel to _teach_ employees erectile dysfunction, wouldn't it? Besides, this is an important part of the male anatomy."

Ami gave up.

"I suppose you've got a point there. But honestly… just from touching your chest? Where is your head at?"

Zero blushed rather than respond.

"Well, I suppose it was inevitable that I would get to this part eventually," Ami surmised, snapping her gloves tight. She'd been avoiding looking down at him out of habitual respect, but now that she had seen it, she couldn't deny her curiosity.

She reached towards his shaft, pausing just before her hand made contact and looking up at him, as if she still needed permission before continuing. Finally, she took hold of it, testing the consistency in her grip. This proved to be a moving goalpost as her hand just made it grow larger and firmer.

"I didn't even get to see it in its normal state," Ami passively complained. "Can you make it go back?"

"Not quickly," he said, "and certainly not with you holding it. About the only input a man has is to make it bigger, not smaller, and even that it'll sometimes do on its own."

"No control at all, you say? I'm not sure I believe that."

"Well, think about it," he countered. "Haven't you ever gotten wet without conscious input?"

Ami looked surprised that he would ask, then glared at him for the intimate query.

"Never you mind about my body," she replied. She was obviously flustered.

She took her frustration out on the object in her hand, flicking it, bending it slightly, and generally testing the limits of its movement. This, of course, just made it more rigid.

"You're not going to… go off, are you?" she suddenly thought to ask before continuing.

"I'm doing my best not to. Though that _would_ solve your issue."

"What do you mean?" asked Ami.

"You weren't aware? When a man releases, the phallus reverts to its resting state."

Ami looked down at what she was holding, considering her options.

"Phallus means pen-"

"I-I know that!" Ami defended, cutting him off. Granted, the rest of what he had said was new information. Zero had seemed surprised that she hadn't known, she noted. It must be common knowledge, then. Maybe she really didn't know as much about this subject as she had previously thought. After all, it's not as if she had gone out of her way to seek out such knowledge. Now that it was right in front of her, though… this warm, pulsing meat stick… one that she knew had gotten like this because of her, too… well, in the end, Ami _was_ still a teenager, after all.

Curiosity won out.

"The end is the sensitive part, right?" she asked.

"That's right. It's similar to the female clitoris, but the nerve endings aren't quite as dense."

"So… like this?"

Ami pinched and tweaked the thing a bit, the way she did when handling herself (not that she would ever vocalize this). Her subject didn't seem to react much.

"A squeezing, tugging motion works best," he replied. "Although it's not much either way without some kind of lubrication."

"Well, what do you want me to do about _that_? Use rubbing alcohol?"

"Goodness, no. But saliva works well."

…now he wasn't even being subtle about what he expected her to do. Honestly. Maybe Ami's limited medical equipment didn't cover every possible scenario, but of all things… surely just spitting in her glove would suffice, but now that she had come this far, the alternative couldn't help but creep its way into Ami's mind.

What would it feel like, she wondered? Having it in her mouth. She could use her hand first, but if she did that, would she want to switch after? That, she imagined, would just be slimy and gross. No, better to go in fresh. If she were going to do it, she would have to commit. Still, it was rather humiliating. Here, she was supposed to be the one in control, using his body for her own purposes, not the other way around.

"Just to confirm…" Zero started, snapping Ami back to reality, "you do want me to release now… right? I want to be sure that I don't do anything without your permission."

Well, that neatly established her as the dominant one once again… even if it didn't entirely feel that way.

"I'll admit, I am curious," she said. "I want to see what it looks like back in its dormant state. I'm also interested in seeing the s… s… s…"

"Semen?"

"…y-yes, that."

Even in medicine, it wasn't a common fluid for one to be dealing with. Ami felt a little green for this. But she was determined. Let it never be said that Ami was the type of person to leave a task half-finished. She looked down once more at the throbbing object gripped in her hand.

"And… you're certain it's clean?"

"Very thoroughly, before every client."

Ami noticed that it didn't really have a scent to it. That must mean it was clean, right? With tentative lips, she wrapped herself around it and began to suckle gently. It was not an intense sensation, but the fact that she did it so calmly and so diligently had an impact. Ami could feel it swell ever so slightly in her mouth. She pulled back.

"Will that be sufficient?"

"Do it as deeply and as forcefully as you're comfortable with," he instructed her. "I'll warn you before I reach my limit."

 _Relax, Ami,_ she told herself, _he's just trying to educate you on technique. It's for the sake of learning, not dominance._ Part of her wondered, but…

Deciding to trust him, she took it deeper into her mouth, and made a point to apply as much suction as she could.

Zero himself wiggled his hips ever so slightly, which suggested to Ami that movement was also an important factor in this equation. With all the pieces added together, she had him at her mercy. Before long, she felt a hand nudging her cheek, as the phrase "back, now," whistled into her ear.

With ninja-like reflexes and surgical precision, Ami withdrew, then pulled a petri dish out of seemingly nowhere that she had been saving for just this occasion, catching the white substance straight out of the air and giving it a new home under her microscope. Before Zero had even landed on the floor, she had already wheeled her chair over and was furiously observing the specimen.

No matter what, Ami was still Ami.

Some time passed in silent study, as Ami jotted down some notes and Zero waited for further instruction. Finally, after several minutes, Ami pulled away from her work station and dropped her pencil ceremoniously onto the page.

"Done already?" asked Zero.

"That will do for these notes. Now," she smirked, "let's move on… there are a few more things I want to try."


	4. Chapter 1: Jupiter

NOTE: The four Chapter 1's can be read in any order.

* * *

"You want… to fight me."

"That's right," answered the (admittedly handsome) stranger. He stood, broad-shouldered, in front of Mako's house, shortly after witnessing her dispatch some local hoodlums who had been bullying a neighbor child.

"Lemme guess, are you a part of that gang I just cleaned out? Looking for revenge? Is that it?"

"Not at all," he said. "I don't have ties with any humans here. You see… I'm a god."

"A… god." Mako stared at him in disbelief, at length, then slumped over herself. "Right. Why do I always get the crazy ones?"

"I'm not joking," he said stoically. "Watch this."

He waved his finger, and Mako felt a strange sensation of weightlessness. She instinctively reached to hold her skirt in place as she felt her feet leaving the ground, and her body began to rotate in place.

"W…waaah! Put… put me down!"

"As you wish."

Hold on… that was a female voice.

 _THUD!_ "Oof!"

Mako landed less than gracefully, then came back to herself to see the man she had been speaking to had miraculously transformed into a woman.

"I… you…!"

"I'm an honest-to-goodness Kami, and I'd like to have a sparring session with you," he (she) repeated. "No divine powers, just martial arts versus martial arts. I'll even fight you in this form, if you like."

Mako took a moment to regain her composure, stand up, and dust herself off. With a long, deep breath, she gathered her wits and spoke.

"I don't care if you're a man or a woman. More importantly… why would I want to fight you? Even if you do play fair like you say you will, I don't want to be on a god's bad side because I punched his face in."

The stranger laughed.

"You're confident, I see. I hoped you would say something like that. I have a wager I'd like to make."

"A wager? What wager?"

"As I said, I will not use any of my powers. If I do, it will be considered my forfeit. Your complete victory. What's more, the loser must grant the winner any one request that is within their power to fulfill."

"One… request?"

"As a god," he/she stated, "I have the power to grant you almost any wish, should you beat me. Anything at all, your heart's desire. And even if I should win, then, well… you're only human, so certainly I couldn't ask you to do anything _too_ hard."

When he put it that way, it certainly seemed like Mako had a lot more to gain than she had to lose.

The smile Mako was looking at was a little aggravating. It told her that the god wasn't taking this especially seriously. Looking at him, even in female form, he was a bit muscular… but Mako had taken out men several times either of their size. Size didn't matter here, and both of them knew it. This was going to come down to raw combat experience. And with the prize of a magical genie wish at stake…

"All right, then. Let's go," Mako invited, setting aside her bookbag and removing her jacket. She wasn't planning to lose, but she also wasn't expecting this to be an easy fight. This guy exuded confidence.

Still in female form, the goddess took her stance. Her smile never disappeared—she was clearly looking forward to this.

With a movement like lightning, Mako bolted for the opening strike, attempting to initiate with a powerful blow from the elbow. Her opponent dodged and promptly winded her with a powerful knee to the stomach.

Mako fell to all fours to recover, struggling to regain her breath. As she did so, it was all she could do to look up in time to see a foot coming around to hit her square in the face. Everything went dark.

* * *

Strange. Mako felt oddly… comfortable. Her whole body felt warm and pleasant, save for…

"Owww…"

Mako scrunched her face in discomfort as the blow from earlier came back to her. Her face was bruised, but the rest of her no worse for wear. Except…

"W… wait, why am I naked?!"

"Awake, are you?"

A familiar voice rang out. It belonged to that same god again, but this was the male version. Mako quickly turned her head to see him sitting in her chair, at her desk, beside her bed, which she only now realized she was in. She was naked in her bedroom, and more importantly, he was there with her.

"…!"

Mako tried to scream, but to her surprise, no sound came out.

"Please don't do that," the divine said. "Spare our ears."

She jerked upright, covering herself hastily with her arms and legs, as her comforter had apparently been taken. _At least I'm not tied up or anything_ , she thought to herself. Still, being in a room with someone so apparently powerful… what was it that he wanted with her?

"What do you want?!" she blurted out, apparently able to talk but not scream. Mako always spoke her mind.

"Our deal was that the winner got one request from the loser, whatever that may be," he answered. "As for my request… I'd like to pleasure you."

The smug matter-of-factness with which he said this was unsettling.

"No! No way! Request denied!" she shouted, obstinately. Absolute refusal. He'd have to be crazy if he thought she would agree to that. The god immediately frowned, disapprovingly.

"Now what's with that?" he scolded. "What if you had beaten me, and my response was, 'Sorry, I didn't think I would actually lose, no wish for you?' Where's your warrior's honor?"

When he put it that way, it didn't sound particularly fair of her… but still, of all requests! The two had barely met!

"With my power, I could easily use force… but I would never be comfortable with that," he lamented. "I even waited until you were awake to speak with you."

"…after undressing me, you perverted bastard!"

"Well… I may have looked, but I didn't touch."

What a liar.

"More to the point," he continued, "I'm giving you the option of whether you want _me_ to be dressed or not. I don't plan on using my equipment."

"…eh?"

"You can keep your virginity."

Mako stared at him, confused. She squinted, as if doing so would give her a better sight into his head, let her figure out what in the world he was thinking. After a moment, she snapped back to reality.

"How'd you even know I was a virgin, huh?"

He smirked. "You just told me."

Mako scowled at his trickery. She still couldn't understand the guy; she turned away out of principle. "If you're not interested in doing it… then what's even the point? Why make the wish?" she asked.

"Maybe I just like to show a lady a good time," he mused.

"What, by punching her lights out and stripping her naked?!"

"Hey, now, no guilt trips. I even fought you as a woman. Or maybe…" He grinned an impish little grin. "…you'd prefer if I was still that way?"

"N-no!" she shouted back. "I like guys, okay?!"

His smug smile didn't vanish. It was as if getting that statement out of her had been some kind of personal victory for him.

"So, then, how will this go?" he asked. "It'll be just like a full body massage. Or else… will you just throw all your honor out the window? You told me before that you didn't want to be on a god's bad side."

"Urk…"

That was true. She didn't want to be cursed with bad luck the rest of her life, or something. Broken mirrors, rainy beach trips, apartment fires… maybe…

 _Ugh_. Mako finally sighed in defeat. She wasn't getting out of this one.

"I guess… if it's what we agreed to, it's what we agreed to." Her arms slumped down and she returned to a fairly normal sitting posture. "Just… make sure you hold up your end, okay? No going all the way."

"All right, then… are you less uncomfortable with me dressed?"

Mako shook her head negative. "If we're doing this, you're in the same boat I am."

The divine being shrugged and began disrobing, revealing a torso bearing a deep scar, but even more muscular than Mako had imagined. His lower half was similarly impressive. She supposed it would have to be, if he had the power to shapeshift the way he had displayed prior.

Despite his claims of having no interest in using it, his member certainly looked happy to see her.

"Please lie down," he instructed. She warily obeyed, keeping an eye open to monitor where this was going.

True to his claims thus far, he leaned beside her and placed his hand on her torso, running it down her clavicle and between her breasts. This was the first time Mako had been intimately touched by a boy (centuries-old immortal or not), and naturally, her body reacted a little defensively. She could tell he was starting slowly on purpose to accommodate her.

His touch moved to her breasts, the largest of her group of friends; as he applied some pressure, she felt the strange sensation that could only be achieved by someone else's touch as opposed to her own. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

Mako felt lips against the side of her face, moving closer to her neck. It was a pleasant feeling, but still, she stiffened up at where it was he was kissing.

"You're not a vampire… right?"

The god stifled a chuckle. "Certainly not. I just didn't want to take your first kiss without permission," he mused, ever the gentleman. Mako couldn't help but consider whether that was something she wanted to experience… certainly, she was experiencing a lot of other firsts today. Maybe…

 _Ah!_

She felt his hand brush her thigh. It was moving dangerously close to her precious spot, a place she had never shown to any boy. Even her father, when he was alive, had never seen it. Was she really going to allow this to happen with someone who was basically a stranger?

"H…hey…" Mako stammered, having obviously lost some of her composure with all the new sensations she was feeling. "Do you… have a name?"

He pulled his face back, meeting her gaze with some surprise. This was when Mako noticed that her partner had no pupils—his eyes were as white and empty as Purgatory. Despite this, she could tell that they were looking at her with both compassion and curiosity, reading her face carefully as if to assess how to interpret what she had just asked him. Those eyes… as otherworldly as they were, the look in them was undoubtedly human.

"My name is Zero," he told her.

 _Zero, huh? What a weird name for a god_ , she thought. But still… it was nice to have one she could call him by, even if she was never to see him again after today. Would she see him again? What was his endgame, exactly? As skilled as he was, he had to have known that she would be no match for him. Had he challenged her just so that he could do this with her?

Mako thought about it some more.

"You knew you would beat me, didn't you?" she finally asked.

"I expected to, but it wasn't a guarantee."

"Why did you go through all of the trouble to make this happen?"

"That, I…" Zero paused. This was a loaded question. She'd gotten him to admit that this was all planned, but… would she accept his explanation? "Well… aside from enjoying a good fight," he started, "I saw a beautiful human girl who looked lonely, and so… I wanted to share this with you. That's all."

Looked lonely, huh? Could he really tell that about her at a glance? Mako supposed, in his own way, that was sort of romantic, but… to essentially guilt her into doing this with him? As good-looking as he was, surely he didn't think this was the only way. Maybe he was just the theatrical type.

"Are you ready?" he asked. This little phrase pulled Mako out of her daydream, where she realized she had just spent a good length of time reasoning out all these character traits of his. At the very least, he wasn't a rude or crass person. Even now, he was being so very careful to respect Mako's reservations. Even if he hadn't been willing to forfeit his request entirely, maybe, if he kept his word, just this much would be okay.

"S…sure," she finally stammered. As soon as she did, she felt his hand cusp her groin, sinking into the lush brown hair she had allowed to grow there. It was kind of embarrassing… if Mako had known this sort of thing would be happening to her today, she would have prepared more. But Zero was unabated, his gentle strokes sending chills up Mako's spine. This was nothing like when she did it to herself.

Each finger motion was like a waltz, rhythmically stepping, shifting, twirling to a beat that never quite lent itself to predictability. In only moments, Mako had submit completely to the physical sensations. She noticed something shifting beneath her, but didn't care enough to open her eyes and look at it—and when she felt a pair of lips replace the hand that had previously occupied her attention, she hopped trains readily.

Zero's masterful mouthwork brought Mako to completion in record time. She had always wondered how that might feel, and now that she knew it, she could see herself becoming addicted. Her legs, which at some point had instinctively wrapped themselves around her partner's upper body, went numb and lulled in place on the edge of her bed. She felt herself fading out, too quickly to be natural… deeper, and deeper…

…

And then, when she finally woke, Zero was gone.


	5. Chapter 1: Venus

NOTE: The four Chapter 1's can be read in any order.

* * *

The life of a superheroine was trying, indeed. Some days Mina could barely drag herself home and into her bed before school the next day—and even that wasn't guaranteed to be uninterrupted. Things had gotten easier since she'd made some friends to join her on her heroic escapades, but even as a member of a team, saving the world was a lot to expect of a high schooler.

Of course, none of her friends took the superhero business quite as seriously as Mina. They only really got involved if there were some kind of supernatural monsters threatening the city—the petty crimes were all left to Mina, otherwise known as Sailor V. She didn't mind too much, though. Mina craved adventure and romance in her life; some would say she was easily bored. A little badguy buttkicking was good for her.

This meant, however, that Sailor V had a reputation among the city's criminal underworld. Mina had made a lot of enemies in her escapades as a heroine of justice. Enemies that couldn't be helped, of course. Evil never sleeps, after all. But none of the encounters she'd had in the past had prepared her for a situation like this.

Mina was home alone, and there was someone uninvited in her bedroom. Not a burglar in a mask, or a knife-wielding maniac, or a mob negotiator, but someone who looked to be tied up… and naked.

Mina blinked a few times, not sure if what she was seeing was really there or not. Maybe she was really looking at a pile of pillows on her bed, and her mind was just playing tricks on her. Maybe this was some kind of weird prank Artemis was trying to pull… that cat was never around when she needed him.

No and a no—that was definitely a naked man, gagged and bound. He was kneeling on Mina's bed with arms and feet apparently bound together behind him, and he had what looked to be a piece of paper attached to his chest.

"W…WAH!"

Mina jumped, finally reacting to the sight of the stranger as any girl would when finding a naked man in her room, bound or otherwise. She thought to ask him what the hell he was doing there, but realized that it would be a futile effort with him gagged as he was.

After the initial shock faded, Mina took a good, long look at him, studying him from a safe distance. His eyes looked innocent, but the situation was too suspicious for her to trust something like that. Mina tossed her bag to the floor, putting up a defensive stance. The man didn't move. Slowly, cautiously, she approached him and ripped the paper off his chest. He appeared to wince.

 _To our dearest compatriot,_

 _We realize we have had our differences in the past, but we hope to put all that behind us with this friendly gift. A girl has her needs, after all. On the other side of this paper you'll find detailed instructions to aid you in the handling of your merchandise. May this improve your future relations with the marked gentlemen, Miss Sailor V._

"Marked gentlemen" referred to yakuza tattoos… this was from the mob, and somehow, they had learned about her secret identity. This was bad—very bad. Without another thought, Mina lunged for the bound boytoy and held him by the base of his neck.

"You're one of them, aren't you? Where did they send you from?!"

His eyes turned fearful, and he seemed to shrink into himself. Mina glared at him intimidatingly, then noticed something looking into his eyes—he had no pupils. This boy was blind. What's more, he seemed to be genuinely afraid of the situation he was in. Reluctantly, she released her hold on him, and he tried to scamper into the corner, falling over pathetically in the process. He was doing all he could to try and get away from her in his bound state.

Mina turned the paper she was holding around and looked at the other side.

" _This male service doll has been bred to service women unconditionally. He will follow any command, and never harm or defy his owner. The rope with which he is bound is entirely optional, and is only in place to provide a feeling of security for first-time users. The doll is harmless. He is also impotent, and guaranteed to be free of all disease. Several of his faculties have also been removed to ensure optimal service. Please enjoy this product to your heart's content."_

What a thing to write! This had to be some sort of scheme… right? Surely there was no such place that actually bred people like this… as slaves, rather than humans? It was too horrible a business model to imagine, let alone to picture having ties to the little old Tokyo mafia.

Mina glanced over at the boy still cowering in the corner of her room, suddenly feeling some pity for him. Maybe it was possible that he was a victim in all of this, and not an undercover yakuza member… he was awfully young for the yakuza, certainly too young for them to trust him with the assassination of Sailor V. But… if he really was a sex slave, why would the mafia send such a gift to their enemy? To distract her from being a heroine? What's more, if they knew her secret identity, they knew she was fifteen years old. What sleazeballs.

"Hey, hold still," she said, reassuringly, as she approached the boy in the corner. She placed her hand gently on his back to ease his trembling, then brought him upright and removed his gag. He took a deep breath of relief.

"Before I untie you… what have you got to tell me, huh?"

The boy didn't respond to Mina's question.

"Hello?" she said, more sternly. "Say something!"

He looked down, forlorn, then opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Or rather, there was some sound, but it was more of a scratchy whisper than actual speech. He attempted this a few times, to no avail. Words did not form.

"You can't speak… is that it?"

He again did not respond. Mina sighed in defeat, then collapsed backwards so that she was laying on the floor before him, arms behind her head and legs spread out.

"Man, what to do, what to do… what am I gonna do with you?" she pondered to herself in her reclined position. As she lay there, sprawled on her bedroom floor, thinking, she felt some movement in her skirt.

"Eh?"

Looking down, she saw the boy trying to nuzzle his face between her legs, as if trying to undress her with his mouth.

"St…stop that!" she shouted, shoving him off and closing her legs in panicked embarrassment. He reacted again by cowering away, apparently frightened off by her aggressive shove. Mina needed a moment to process what had just happened. After a few, it dawned on her: he must have misinterpreted her posture as an invitation to… "service" her.

"Is that… is that really all you know?" she asked, knowing full well that he could not answer. She felt sorry for the poor boy, if he really had been kept in some enclosure his whole life, unable to see or speak, taught only about pleasing women. In such a state… he was like a wildman, completely alien to regular human life and culture. Was there even a way to save him?

Well, obviously, she at least had to try. First thing tomorrow, she would take him to the police (as Sailor V, of course) and inform them of the situation. They would have the resources to help this person, and readjust him to society.

But, until then…

Taking a good look at him, Mina realized that whoever had raised him had done a damn good job with his body. He had a very attractive, athletic build, and was completely clean shaven. He had perfect skin, and a pretty nice piece of equipment, too. The only flaw on his body looked to be the big scar on his chest, which was probably a brand of some sort that they had given him, the filth.

 _As long as he's willing, it would be a waste not to take advantage of this opportunity, right?_ Mina thought to herself, allowing her curious, naughtier side to show. _It can't be a crime if he's the one making the first move._

The sly smile on Mina's face gave away her plans pretty blatantly. She once again approached the cowering figure in front of her and placed her hand on his back.

"I'm sorry about that, you surprised me, that's all," she said. She sat him up once again, and since he had been so cooperative thus far, decided to chance untying him. She kept her Star Power Stick at the ready, just in case she had to transform.

Fortunately, he seemed to be as placid as advertised. As soon as his ropes were removed, he took a regular seated position and faithfully awaited orders.

 _Damn, he's got a nice package,_ Mina thought to herself. She couldn't help it. She'd always wanted a cuddle toy (read: boyfriend), but superhero life had kept her so busy that she'd had no time at all for dating. This might be the only chance she would have in her young life, she couldn't _not_ take it.

She leaned forward and took hold of his member, boldly. He didn't seem to mind what she was doing so far, only observing her. Mina noticed it start to grow firm in her hand, and so squeezed it some more in order to enhance the effect. In short time, it was standing straight up. It was so smooth and pink and cute, she just couldn't help herself—she pecked a kiss right on the tip. She noticed the boy wince just a bit at the contact from the corner of her eye. He was such an adorable thing.

Mina let go and pulled back, drawing his attention to her. With almost no reservation at all, she began casually disrobing. She couldn't do what she was planning to do dressed, after all.

When she was finished, she sat opposite him with a smile on her face, legs crossed. She made no effort to hide her special place from him. As a result, his sprung right back up to full mast. He couldn't hide anything from her.

With a catty smile back on her face, she cocked her head confidently, opening her legs a little wider and motioning him to her. He was cautious, after the last time, but nonetheless seemed to understand the motion, and he slowly moved forward on all fours to lower his face between her legs.

Whoever taught him taught him well. Sailor V was defeated in mere moments. Not only that, but as soon as he was finished with the front door, he moved right on ahead to the back.

That… wasn't entirely a bad feeling, but it certainly caught Mina off guard. She jumped back upright, holding him off for a moment so that she might have a chance to regain her composure. If she let him keep going, she might lose all sense of herself.

Besides that, there was one more thing she still wanted to try. That paper had said that he was impotent, right? As long as there wasn't any risk of pregnancy involved…

"Hey… let's try the real thing." She was a little too giddy when she said that. Not that it mattered to him. He sat obediently as she moved closer to him once again, nuzzling up torso to torso and locking lips with his. No tongue—just a passionate, curious sort of kiss. It had obviously been something she had wanted to do for quite a while.

With an enthusiastic little smile, she pulled away and looked him in the eye, then glanced down at her target. It was primed and ready. With a gentle nudge, she teased her partner onto his back and then positioned herself optimally. This would be the final frontier—no going back afterward.

With a little finagling, their parts lined up; a gentle drop, and entry was made. She hadn't expected it to sting quite so much, and fell forward onto her arms, which fell onto his chest, placing her full weight on him. He didn't seem to mind—or at least, he didn't show it—flexing his pectorals in order to support her on top of him. After her brief moment of reprieve, Mina opted to continue, completing their bond to the base.

Her movements were enthusiastic, and she could feel from the heat and size of his member that he was excited, too, but still, he stayed motionless, doing nothing beyond allowing Mina to have her way.

 _Well, this is a waste,_ she thought. _It's nice to have the real thing inside, but if he's not even going to move, he's basically just a toy…_

She tried to goad him into being more active by placing one of his hands on her breast. He understood immediately, and began to massage it as Mina continued her own motions. At the same time, the boy began to move his own hips slightly, trying to assist his partner, and let his other hand rest on Mina's hip as she moved. All of this made it feel much more natural.

As best as he had tried to remain stoic, his face betrayed him; Mina could tell he was very near his limit. That was fine—she was approaching it again herself. Without a word, she leaned in nearer to him, bringing their bodies as close to each other as possible for their shared climax. She laid on him, in reverie; he, in turn, placed his arms around her, apparently enjoying the affection of another human. It seemed he was starting to get attached to her.

 _Maybe…_ Mina thought, _maybe… it wouldn't be such a bad idea to keep him around just a little longer._


	6. Chapter 2: Mars

Things were serious. They had to be. Usagi never called a meeting between the five of them unless either Luna made her, or something really serious was going down. Luna, however, would never have called them to meet at a public restaurant—cats weren't allowed there. Maybe this meeting was actually going on behind Luna's back…?

"All right, Usagi, why are we all here?"

Rei was all business, and she had her doubts that anything they would be discussing at a fast food restaurant would be of dire importance. Usagi looked like she could barely contain her excitement, and Mina was in similarly good spirits. Mako was somehow less enthused, much like Rei, and Ami seemed to have other things on her mind.

"I've got big news, girls," Usagi practically beamed. "I… I… I finally met someone!"

"Ehh?!"

All of them reacted in disbelief, either at the fact that Usagi would have found a boy willing to put up with her, or the fact that she would have called a sailor meeting just to tell them all about it.

"Usagi, I thought you were going to be seeing Mamoru?" Ami questioned.

"Well, yeah, but… this is different…"

Usagi twiddled her thumbs, not quite sure how to defend herself.

"Oh, come on, now, the two of you just hooked up and you're already turning your head?" Mako criticized. "And what's the deal calling us all out here just for that, huh?"

"Easy, Mako," Mina tried to defend. "Maybe it's not like that."

"Y-yeah," said Usagi, defensively. "You haven't even met Zero."

…Zero?

Ami and Mako instantly turned their attention to Usagi. They then looked at each other, surprised to see the other reacting as well.

"Oh dear…" started Ami. "You'd better tell us the whole story, Usagi."

* * *

"That's… that's him!" Mako stammered. "That's the same Zero!"

"Wait a minute, Mako… you met him, too?" Ami gawked.

"You bet, I did! He challenged me to a fight, and then…!"

The girls all waited for Mako to continue.

"And then…?"

"I… well… I don't wanna say what happened next," Mako decided, turning her head bitterly.

"Did he… um… join you in your… bedroom?" Ami hesitated to ask.

"N…never you mind!" shouted Mako.

"Bedroom things…? Wait a minute…" Mina questioned. "What did he look like, you guys?"

Mako and Ami both glanced at each other for a moment.

"Long, black hair…" Mako started.

"A big scar on his chest…" Ami continued.

"Plenty of muscle…"

"No pupils…"

"That's him!" Mina shouted, making everyone jump with her volume.

"You too, Mina?"

"Yeah! But… I don't understand how you two could have met him…"

"Let's all tell each other what happened to us last night," Ami suggested. "No secrets. We'll never figure this out unless we have all the information."

The girls all looked at each other for a moment, warily, then nodded in unison.

"Zero came to me claiming to be a male model," Ami started. "I got a note from my mother saying that she had hired him to assist in my medical studies from some company he worked for."

"Medical studies, huh?" asked Mako. "What exactly did THAT entail?"

"Well… in all fairness, it did start out as a fairly educational experience," Ami replied. "I suppose things between us may have gotten just a little out of hand, though… I kind of… got a little bit curious with him."

"Is that right?" asked Mina, suspiciously. "When I saw him, he was tied up in my room with a note from the yakuza. Said he was a peace offering, a boytoy raised by some… company."

The other girls all stared in disbelief at Mina.

"I thought it was weird too, okay?! And I was going to bring him to the police, but… I guess my curiosity got the better of me, too, okay?"

"Company? That's a bunch of crap!" Mako shouted. "He's no model, or slave… he's a god, or a monster… some kind of youma! I'm telling you, he's somethin' supernatural."

"You… really think he's a youma?" asked Usagi, who had been quietly listening for most of this conversation.

"He's something, anyway," said Mako. "He showed up in front of my house and challenged me to a fight. I don't like to admit it, but I lost… and after betting against him, too."

"You tried to fight a god?" Usagi questioned.

"He promised not to use any of his crazy powers! And as far as I could tell, he didn't. When I lost, I had to pay up… and he wanted…"

The girls listened attentively. Mako gave up on trying to hide it.

"…ugh. He wanted to have his way with me, all right?"

"M…Mako, you didn't?"

"We didn't go all the way, but still. It's not something I'm proud of," she blushed. "Anyway, what about you, Usagi? You still haven't told us how your encounter went."

"Oh… me? Well, um…" she hesitated to start. "We actually… kind of… went on a date together."

"You… what?" Mako was in disbelief.

"We ran into each other on the street and went out to eat… he told me that he was a god, here to spread the virtues of peace and love, or something, and that he wanted me to be his student."

"What a laugh," the angry Mako retaliated. "That liar played you… played us all like fiddles!"

"You think so?" Usagi wondered. She had to seriously consider it, after all that her friends had apparently experienced. But still… "He seemed so genuine to me… he was honest, and gentle… and when we were together…"

Usagi trailed off, turning to her friends who had apparently also been intimate with this "Zero" character.

"Didn't you feel anything like that when you were with him?"

"I…" Mako hesitated to respond. She didn't want to.

"He was all business with me," Ami stated bluntly. "I mean… he was very polite, and accommodating, but it sounds like it was all an act… right?"

"He's one hell of an actor," Mina complained, pouty-faced. "He had me thinking he was some kind of victim. Not to say I didn't have a _little_ fun, but…"

Mako scoffed. "Yeah, okay… I'll admit, I enjoyed it at the time. But still! No matter… how soft and gentle he seemed…"

"…he was a cuddler, wasn't he?" said Mina, unabashedly. A brief silence followed.

"Anyway…" Mako started, "what about you, Rei?"

"Huh?"

Rei had zoned out a little bit, listening incredulously to her friends' stories of passion and deceit. Their eyes were all on her.

"How'd it go with you? When he came by your place?" asked Mina.

"I, uh…"

All eyes were on Rei.

"I never… got a visit," she admitted, confusion in her voice.

"Really?!" the scouts all shouted at once.

"This is the first time I've heard of… of any of this."

"Rei… where were you yesterday?" Ami asked.

"I was at home the whole day. Nothing special."

"That proves it!" cried Mako. "That proves he's a demon! He never approached Rei because he couldn't approach the shrine, isn't that right?"

"I suppose… that could be it," said Ami. "It's our best lead so far. Until we figure out what exactly is going on, I think we should make base at Rei's house. I'll contact Luna and Artemis immediately."

* * *

That night…

Rei couldn't sleep. The girls were all passed out on the floor of the shrine. It worked out, since it was probably a good idea to have someone awake and on guard duty. Still, there wasn't a lot to do in the shrine building itself.

Rei decided to get up to walk around a little bit.

It was a beautiful, starless night. The shrine was awash in darkness, crickets chirping, nature playing its symphony. Rei enjoyed the atmosphere of the night, on occasion. But there was one sound she didn't recognize… a soft rhythm, like footsteps, not too far from her. She immediately hurried around to the front of the shrine.

There, in the darkness, there stood a figure at the shrine entrance. Could it be him? The one she had been waiting for? He seemed hesitant to pass through the entrance. This sacred shrine… maybe it really was keeping him at bay, she thought.

Then, as if to prove her theory wrong, the figure took a step through the gate. He kept on moving, closer and closer, to the offering chest. His feet sounded bare, and his footsteps were so quiet, as if he had no body weight at all. Rei watched from the offering box, where she stood regularly during days of service, ready to defend herself if need be.

The figure was muscular, and though his eyes were obscured by the darkness, the large scar on his torso was clear to see. There was no question—this was Zero, the one the girls had described to Rei.

Silently, wordlessly, he produced a coin seemingly out of nowhere and placed it in the offering box. Then, just as quietly as he had appeared, he began walking away.

He was taunting them. Taunting Rei. As soon as they had thought that he would be unable to approach the shrine, he came to do so… not because he had any reason to be there, but just to prove to them that there was nowhere they were safe from him. The bastard!

But if that were true… if the shrine wasn't a barrier to him, then… why? Why had Rei been the only one not visited?

* * *

"Maybe he doesn't like angry girls," Usagi teased. Rei, of course, was not amused.

"Oh, shut up! He visited Mako, didn't he?"

"Hey!" cried Mako.

"Girls, girls, we have to stay focused," Luna scolded. She and Artemis had slept at the shrine with the others. "We've encountered enemies before who had no problem being here at the shrine."

"That's true…" Rei reflected, remembering some of the past fights that had taken place right here on these sacred grounds.

"We don't know what it is Zero is after," Artemis articulated, "but we know one thing: he hasn't approached us as a group. Even last night, he only appeared before Rei when she was alone… right?"

"I… guess that's true," Rei agreed.

"He's a more psychological villain than any we've faced," Ami analyzed. "He'll do his best to try to single us out, look for vulnerabilities… we'll all have to be on our guards."

 _Oh, come now, isn't "villain" just a bit much?_

A voice rang out in Ami's head, and she immediately reacted to hearing it. But she wasn't the only one.

"…Zero!"

Usagi, Mina, Mako, and Ami all cried out at once, leaving Rei and their feline companions utterly confused.

"What? Where?" asked Luna.

"Is he here? Now?" said Artemis.

 _I'm not such a bad guy. You may not realize it now, but everything I've done is for your sake, girls._

"Our sake? You've got to be kidding!" shouted Mako.

"Mako, who are you talking to?" the bewildered Rei asked.

"He's using telepathy, girls," Ami deduced. "It looks like only those of us who have had the encounter with him are able to hear him…"

"Well, fill us in!" Rei shouted.

 _You've all made a contract with me, now. You work for me. You can ask Usagi about the details._

Mako and Mina looked at their bun-headed friend judgementally.

 _Follow my divine orders, and you'll never have to worry about those pesky youma again—at least, not as long as our contract lasts._

"Hold on!" Usagi defended. "That was a contract between us! I never meant for the others to get involved!"

 _That's true. It wasn't Usagi's choice that the rest of you become a part of this. But if I'm taking care of the fight against evil, that means I'm sparing you all your jobs as well, not just Usagi's. It's only fair, then, that you serve me, too. It's only for a short time, and it means you don't have to risk your lives anymore. Isn't that nice? Especially after that nasty Dark Moon business you all suffered through._

"None… none of us agreed to any of this," Mina defended.

 _Well, not explicitly. I issued each of you a test, and you all passed—or failed, depending on how you want to look at it. Ami's curiosity, Mako's honor, Mina's brevity… all redeeming qualities, I would say. It was all of your interactions with me that sealed your contracts._

"What about Rei?" asked Ami, bluntly.

"Eh? What about me?" Rei was also curious.

 _I look forward to giving you all your first orders in the near future. Until then, be well, all of you._

"Hold on! Zero! Zero…!"

Ami's calls were in vain. His voice had left them.

"Is he gone?" Artemis inquired.

"Yeah…"

"Good," Luna asserted. "Now can you kindly tell the rest of us **what just happened?** "

* * *

Days passed. The girls had stopped holing up at Rei's place, now that they knew that Zero was uninhibited by the shrine, or by them being in a group, for that matter. A sort of melancholy had begun to form in the five girls. Now that they no longer had to deal with youma attacks, life had gotten kind of dull… and that wasn't the only thing.

"I know you're all gonna hate me for this, but… I can't stop thinking about that night we had together…" Usagi reminisced.

"Bite your tongue!" Luna scolded. "He's seduced you, Usagi."

"I know what you mean," replied Mina. "Sure, it was under false pretenses, but… even if it was a test… I could tell there was something there."

"Mina, do you listen to yourself?" asked Artemis. "You're talking about the same person! He played with both of you!"

"He's certainly not the god of faithfulness," said Ami. "He did seem very scholarly, though. The idea of an age-old kami… there's a lot we could learn from a being like that, historically. I wouldn't mind sitting down to talk with him again."

"Not me," said Mako. "I fought him once and that was plenty. There was that incident the other day… me and Ami and Usagi were all out when we saw a monster try to attack a friend of mine. It was one of the toughest we'd seen. Before we could even try to transform, Zero was on the scene and the thing was wiped out. You could've blinked and missed it."

"I remember that," said Usagi. "Your friend was out cold."

"He woke up and didn't remember a thing," Ami recounted.

"I wonder if he thought it was Mako who saved him," Usagi giggled. The girls spoke, and laughed, and acted strangely cheerfully for their situation, unaware that one member of their group did not share their enthusiasm.

"Yeah, yeah, you've all had your adventures with Zero and he's really cool! I get it, already!"

Everyone turned to look at Rei after her unexpectedly irritated outburst… even for her. Rei suddenly grew embarrassed.

"S…sorry…" she apologized, meekly.

"We should be thankful he hasn't made his move on you girls yet," said Artemis. "He hasn't come back to visit any of you, has he?"

"Not in person," said Ami.

"I had a dream about him," said Mako. "You think that was him using his weird mind powers again?"

"I, um… I got some chocolates I think he left me," Mina shyly admitted.

"We haven't talked… that much," Usagi replied.

"Goodness gracious, Usagi, you're speaking to him regularly?" asked Luna.

"Only sometimes… at night…"

Rei simply listened. The truth was, she'd had several more experiences much like the one she'd had that night at the shrine. A faded silhouette hovering in the distance outside her bedroom window, or a mysterious figure looking up at the shrine from the road below… if these were Zero, and they almost certainly were, he was keeping his distance from her. But… why? Why her? Why was she the only one left out?

* * *

It was that night, Rei again saw the figure standing at the base of the shrine, looking up at her bedroom window, biding its time. This time, like so many before, she went out to try to pursue him, to see his face. Every time, she had tried to chase him down, and every time, he had vanished before she could reach him. Rei was chasing shadows.

But tonight, the shadow awaited her pursuit. Rei reached the entrance to the shrine, panting, and finally met face to face the man himself.

"Z…Zero!" she mustered to cry, still short of breath. He remained still, his features draped in the cloak of night.

"Yes?"

"I want you to tell me…" she started, trying to be assertive, though still out of breath. She was desperate to have this conversation with him, panting as she forced the words out. "Tell me why… you never visited me? What's the reason?" Rei demanded to know.

No answer.

"Why am I the only one left out?!" she cried.

Zero remained silent. In the still of the night, he could make out a very quiet sniffle. He focused his eyes on Rei, carefully. Then he saw it. She was fighting tears.

"I want you… I want you to treat me like the others," she insisted, a note of dejection in her voice. "I don't care… I don't care if you're our enemy or our ally… I'm… I'm part of the team, Zero!"

Tears stained her cheeks as she made her declaration. Through all of this, she had been suffering.

Slowly, softly, Zero began to walk towards Rei. His features came into view, reflected in the gentle moonlight. His eyes were soft, not a trace of judgement in them. He spoke in a rich, smooth verse.

"Are you certain that's what you want?" he asked her.

Rei nodded in response, the tears only now starting to subside. She didn't know entirely what she was getting into, but she knew it was necessary if she was going to be in this with her friends.

"The others see something in you… you brought something out of them I've never seen before," she said. "I want to see it for myself. I want you to show me, show me if I can trust you."

He contemplated a moment. "All right, then," he replied. "I admire your conviction. We'll start right here."

"…eh? H…here?"

"Under the stars," he affirmed. "If you want to see it happen, it has to be now. I'll need you to disrobe."

"H…hold on! We're… outside!" Rei cried. "What if someone…!"

"You'll just have to trust me," he answered with a smile.

Something about the confidence in his voice—unconcerned, unyielding—it made Rei want to believe him. She still didn't know if this was the right thing to be doing… but for just this moment, she felt sure that he wasn't lying to her. He would protect the both of them.

With a reluctant blush, Rei started to remove her nightwear.

Zero, too, removed what light clothing he was wearing this night.

"Eh? Y-you…"

"Would you rather I was dressed?" he asked, earnestly.

"N-no, no," she replied. It had just caught her off guard, seeing him start disrobing. The truth was, she was at least as curious as her friends were… even if she would never admit it to them, of course.

In moments, the two were completely undressed, standing before each other in the dim of the night. Rei covered herself instinctively, wary of the situation. It didn't help that it was about 20 celsius outside.

"It's… a little chilly," she posited, hoping it would be an excuse to keep herself covered. Instead, it inspired Zero to walk closer. Before Rei could react to his approach, he had embraced her tightly, holding her body to his. Rei was surprised, of course, but came to welcome the feeling of his warmth. His arms wrapped around her back, one moving upwards and one down.

"Relax," she heard him whisper gently into her ear. His one arm reached down to her buttock, and Rei, given what she knew of men, expected a firm grab… but instead, his fingers glided gently across to her outer thigh, creating a trail of sensitivity in their wake. This was Rei's first time feeling the intimate touch of another person, and it surprised her how nice it felt.

Another new feeling was the hot object pressed vertically against her belly. The heat coming off it was much greater than the area around it. She knew what it was, and thinking about it, she had always sort of dreaded seeing one. Rei had always imagined them being these disgusting, unkempt things… but this one didn't feel that way. It felt smooth, clean, and dry… almost like a tiny little arm. She wanted to feel it.

When her fingers went for the prize, it caught Zero by surprise; he hadn't expected such initiative from Rei, of all people. Her hand felt him up and down and all around, not quite going so far down as to reach the family jewels. When she did reach them, she pulled her hand back instinctively, not expecting the change in texture. Seeing her curiosity, Zero separated from her a moment to allow her a better view.

"Curious?" he asked.

"It's… different than I expected, that's all."

"Nothing to be afraid of," he reassured her.

Zero reached his hand out to Rei, inviting her to take it so that they might resume. When she did so, he knelt as if a knight kissing the hand of a lady. Rei watched, curiously, wondering what his next move would be… when, without warning, he started to move closer to her abdomen. Rei stepped back only slightly, flinching in surprise as his face reached her groin, kissing her there rather than on her hand.

Rei was still standing in front of the shrine platform at this point, but when Zero began what he was doing, she quickly found that she was having trouble standing, and fell back into a seated position on the platform. The cool night air quickly became the last thing on Rei's enraptured mind as she held Zero's head, gradually coming closer and closer to her limit.

"Hello?"

Rei's heart skipped a beat, and her thighs nearly squashed Zero's face, closing in on him.

"Is anybody there? Hello?"

Her grandfather's voice wafted through the darkness, and she saw the motions of a flashlight from around the corner of the shrine, where the door to the house was. A jizo statue was less motionless than Rei and Zero became.

"Could've sworn I saw something moving…" the old man grumbled, returning into the house. A few seconds passed. Zero grinned.

"What… what are you smiling about?!" Rei whispered, angrily. "If we'd been caught…! And by my grandpa…!"

"Weren't you just a little excited?" he asked, coyly.

"Wh-what? No!" she protested.

"Then what's this?" he teased, suddenly focusing his efforts on the stiff little nub that had only just poked its way out of Rei's special place.

"A…ahh…!"

She couldn't protest. In an instant, she was right back to where she had been before they were interrupted. What Zero was doing for her… the feeling was unlike anything she'd known before. Her defenses crumbled, and with a more than audible outcry, she arrived in full force.

Rei was left panting in ecstasy, no longer concerned with who heard her. Her heavy breathing filled the night air, and when she finally gathered enough of herself to try to speak to her partner again…

…she realized that she was alone. Zero was gone.


	7. Chapter 3: TAG

Saturday morning. Usagi woke up feeling unusually refreshed, but couldn't pinpoint exactly why. With weary motions, she crawled out of bed, did up her hair in the trademark style she did every morning, and opened her door to head downstairs and get some breakfast.

"U…Usagi, what's the matter with you?!"

It took a moment for Usagi to register the panicked cry of her kid brother, Shingo, who was just stepping out of the bathroom down the hall. She looked at him, curiously, not sure what it was he was freaking out about.

"You forgot to get dressed, sis!"

Usagi glanced down for a moment, processing, then instinctively dashed back into her room, shutting the door behind her. She heard her brother continue from the other side.

"Jeez… I know you're a ditz, but you've never been _this_ spacy…"

His footsteps moved downstairs, and then there was silence. Usagi stopped to once again look down at herself, buck naked, as he had said. Was that unusual, though? She was sure she always slept that way. At least… she thought so. It didn't _feel_ that abnormal, going about the house in front of her family like this… but maybe she'd better humor her brother and throw something on.

She knelt down and reached for her dresser drawers, but as she did, she felt compelled to stop somehow. As if she was doing something she shouldn't be. Something didn't feel right. The idea of putting on clothes felt… unnatural. Why was that, she wondered?

Usagi sat and thought about it. REALLY thought about it. As much as she tried, she couldn't remember a single time she had eaten breakfast naked… or gone to school naked… out with her friends… she'd definitely always worn clothes before. So why did it feel weird now? Even if she really tried, she found she couldn't force herself to open her drawers. A feeling of overwhelming dread came over her every time she approached them… as if the very act of opening them would end the world forever.

She HAD to be naked.

"Gah! This doesn't make any sense!" she cried in frustration. As she did so, she heard her window slide open, only slightly. But by the time she turned her head to take a look, there was no one there. A conspicuous envelope, however, had slid its way through the cracked window and onto her desk. Usagi walked over to take a look.

"You have been cursed," the outside of the envelope read. "In order to get dressed and resume your normal life again, you must hand the contents of this envelope to your target, Ami Mizuno. Until that happens, you will be completely unable to wear clothing of any kind."

 _What the heck is this?_ Usagi thought to herself. It obviously had to be Zero's doing, but… this wasn't romantic at all. Was this supposed to be some kind of trial? A challenge? It felt to Usagi like she was being made fun of, and it made her want to cry.

She couldn't fight it, though. No matter what, she knew the last thing she could do was put on clothes. Her brain screamed at her anytime she even considered it as an option. Something had been tweaked in her head, making it completely impossible, just as the note said.

 _Okay, stay calm,_ she told herself. _There's a simple solution for this. Why didn't I think of it before? You're a genius, Usagi!_

 _Rrrring… rrrring… click!_

"Hello?"

"Ami! Listen, I need you to come over right away, okay?"

"Usagi? I've got cram school today, it's very important that I not miss it. Is something attacking the city?"

"Well… no, I mean… Zero's taking care of that. It's just…"

"If it's not an emergency, then call me back tonight. We can talk then."

 _Click! Beep… beep… beep…_

Hung up on. Just like that.

"Waaah! She… she shut me out!" Usagi cried. From the sound of it, Ami had a busy day planned. Her morning must have been jam packed if she didn't even have a minute to talk. She probably wouldn't pick up the phone again at all.

That only left two choices… either Usagi could hole up in her room all day, hiding from her family, not eating lunch or dinner, not talking to anyone… or else she'd have to go to Ami's house in person. What a decision.

In the end, Usagi wasn't willing to give up her whole Saturday. But going outside, naked… what if she was seen? By someone she knew? What if someone called the police on her? If anything _really_ bad happened… Zero would look out for her, wouldn't he? Even if he was the one who set this all up… no, BECAUSE he was the one who set this up, she was sure he had to be watching her.

Usagi grabbed the envelope and crept over to her bedroom window. It was the only way out of the house that wouldn't put her in sight of her family. But… it was on the second floor…

She pulled open the blinds and nearly yelped at what she saw.

"Yo."

"W-wah!"

Usagi jumped back in surprise. Zero was floating there, outside her window, totally unabashed about being seen. What's more, he was himself completely naked. She hadn't seen this much of him since their first night together.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Supervising," he said nonchalantly.

"I knew it was you who planned all this!" she accused. Zero shrugged, as if to say, _of course it was, and I knew you knew._ He wasn't apologetic about it, much to Usagi's dismay. "The least you could do is help me down!" she shouted.

"Of course, I'd be happy to," he replied, offering up his hand. That was surprisingly decent of him, given the indecent ordeal he was about to make Usagi go through. She took his hand and was surprised at the feeling of her body going weightless as he levitated the both of them down to the ground below.

Usagi's feet touched the grass. It was a vulnerable feeling, being nude outside… Zero was there in the same boat with her, but how long would he be there?

"I'll be watching," he said with a smile, vanishing while Usagi wasn't looking. That long. Figures.

Usagi was now alone and naked in her own backyard. There was no turning back now—she knew she couldn't climb back up to the second floor. She would have to think on her feet to make it through this. Unfortunately, that wasn't one of her strong points.

It was still morning… maybe there wouldn't be much foot traffic in town? No, but any traffic would be too much traffic… Ami's house was close, but it wasn't next door. Usagi would have to cross some streets. There was this alley, and that back road…

 _Waaah! I can't do this!_ she thought to herself. She wished she could take back the whole deal she'd made with Zero. Maybe fighting monsters was better than this, after all. But she couldn't do anything about it now. What was the worst case scenario? What if she got caught by the police? Zero wouldn't leave her in jail, would he?

No, she was a minor… they would call her parents, and then she'd have to explain herself to them. They'd think she was crazy. She had to avoid getting caught, it was as simple as that. The only way that would happen now was to get to Ami's and break the curse.

Usagi smacked her cheeks and put her game face on. It was now or never. She gripped the envelope tightly in her hand. With a deep breath, summoning all her courage, she poked her head outside the back gate. The coast was clear. With tepid steps, she set foot on the pavement.

 _Ah…!_ It felt so rough and awkward, walking on the street with no shoes on. Thank goodness this road was well kept. She snuck across as quickly as she could, hiding in a narrow alley across the street. _All right, one road crossed. That's progress._

The slight breeze found its way between Usagi's legs, reminding her of her complete exposure. She felt so vulnerable like this… if someone saw her, it would be the end of her, no question. She had to hurry.

The other end of the alley fed into a slightly larger road, with the occasional cyclist. This one went down a ways before Usagi's next destination, too. Usagi's only cover would be a handful of decorative shrubs scattered about the roadside. She triple checked that there was no one coming before making a move.

 _Go!_

Usagi broke for it down the street, running completely naked in broad daylight. The side road she wanted was only a couple blocks down. Her goal was in sight. Just as soon as she thought she was home free, though, she saw a cyclist start around the corner onto her street.

She ducked into the bushes in the nick of time, hoping against hope that she hadn't been seen. The cyclist slowed down, and Usagi's heart skipped a beat… or two, or three.

 _Go on, keep moving, don't look down, oh please don't look down…_

Finally, the cyclist moved on, apparently just taking a breather. Usagi felt like she could use one herself after that close call. She was sweating bullets.

After another very careful peek, she popped out of her cover and made it to the side road she was going to.

This was the home stretch. This road didn't have any cover at all. No light posts, no trash cans… just a stretch of public, suburban road in broad daylight. Ami's house was a few places down. Usagi didn't know anyone from this part of the neighborhood except for Ami, but… she felt sure that word would travel. She would just have to book it and hope for the best.

Still clutching the envelope tightly, she broke for Ami's place as fast as she could, feet smacking against the pavement. One house, two houses down… she really hoped no one glanced out their window… three houses… and finally, she made it through Ami's front gate.

Usagi panted heavily. Her heart was racing, and not just from the exercise. That ordeal had been one of the most terrifying things she had ever done, including fighting the forces of evil. It was also a little thrilling, though, in its own way. Not that she would ever admit as much to Zero.

She wasn't quite safe yet, though. Someone could still pass by and glance inside the gate. Without waiting any longer, Usagi hurriedly pounded on Ami's door. Hopefully she hadn't left for cram school yet. If she had… if she had… what would Usagi do? Camp out in Ami's yard?

Fortunately, it didn't come to that, as a very surprised Ami opened her front door.

"U…Usagi?!" she blurted out.

"Ami… _pant_ … please… let me in…!"

Ami nodded in understanding and quickly led Usagi inside.

"This has to do with Zero, doesn't it?" she asked, promptly hitting the nail on the head.

"No time… to explain… _pant_ … just… take this," said Usagi, handing Ami the envelope she had near gotten herself arrested just to get over here.

"What is this…?" she asked, taking the envelope and glancing it over. As she did so, a knock was heard on the door, and it cracked ajar. A small "thump" was heard just outside, followed by silence. Someone had dropped something and left.

Usagi poked her visage through the gap in the door, not revealing her naked self, and saw a small plastic bag sitting lonesome on the porch. She reached through and pulled it inside, and could tell immediately by the weight and shape that it was a pile of clothing—hers!

Usagi turned around gleefully to see Ami disrobing.

"Eh? Ami, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Ami replied, unabated. "I'm doing what I'm supposed to do."

"You're… _supposed_ to be doing that?" Usagi asked, confused. Ami took a moment to think about it.

"Wait… what _am_ I doing?" she asked herself aloud. "I don't think I've ever done this before… have I?" Ami was confused, but not so unsure of what she was doing that she ever stopped undressing, even as she considered all of this. It felt like it was a formality, as much as saying "bless you" to someone who's just sneezed. By the time she really got a chance to analyze her own thought process, Ami was completely nude, and Usagi was once again getting dressed.

"What are _you_ doing?" Ami asked.

"Whaddya mean? I just had to come all the way here naked! I'm not going home like that!"

"You came here… from your house?" Ami clarified.

"Yeah, and it was really scary."

Ami immediately opened the envelope to investigate. She had glanced over the text on the outside, which had been written for Usagi, but it hadn't mentioned anything about Ami. The inside of the envelope confirmed her worst fears.

"Your target is Makoto Kino," read the cover of a second envelope contained within the first. "Only when you have handed this sealed envelope to her will you be able to wear clothing again."

So that's it. This was a game.

 _Sealed, huh?_ That meant that Ami couldn't just open this one immediately, even for the sake of dissecting the situation to figure out all that was going on in this little orchestration. Ami hated when she was denied information.

"This is bad, very, very bad…" Ami paced. "I was just leaving for cram school. I'm already behind on attendance thanks to Scout business, I absolutely can't miss it again."

"So… what are you going to do?" asked Usagi, failing to offer any useful suggestions herself.

"Well, I can…" Ami paused to think about it. This was silly, obviously she should just put her clothes back on. But… _no, that's not an option_. Something inside her told her that wasn't up for consideration. It was as valid an option to her mind right now as sprouting wings and flying to class.

Ami thought. Really, _really_ thought. It was her strong suit, after all. Several moments passed.

"I think… I have a plan," Ami finally stated, eyes closed in determination. A slight blush spanned her face. "Usagi, I need a big favor. Mako is usually at the gym this time on Saturdays. Can you get her and bring her to my cram school?"

"Eh? I guess I can, if I have to…" she replied. "But what are you going to do?"

"I'm on good terms with my teacher," Ami answered. "Get Mako as fast as you can, and leave the rest to me."

Usagi left with concern, but knew that Ami wouldn't have told her to go if she didn't have a plan. The gym Mako frequented was downtown, so it would take her some time to get there and back to the cram school.

Ami, meanwhile, gathered herself with all the zen she could muster. _Deep breaths, Ami. This is the only way._

She stepped outside, completely nude, doing her best to look confident, unfettered. She did her best to retain this composure all the way down the street, through the park, and into the outskirts of the city center, where her cram school's building was located. Despite the numerous passersby she noticed ogling her small breasts, staring at the patch of fuzz between her legs, she maintained an all-business expression. It was perhaps the hardest thing she had ever had to do.

 _Realistically, it's unlikely that anyone will bother with a police report,_ she thought to herself, _as long as I avoid any patrolmen. It's only my reputation at risk, and if my gambit works… maybe I can keep the damage at a minimum… I hope…_

She fought back tears. Despite her poker face, she was screaming on the inside, knowing that so many complete strangers had seen—were seeing—her bare body, on full display. She wanted desperately to hide it, to cover herself, but knew that if she did so at all, her plan would fall apart. The only way this could work is if she were committed.

"M…Miss Mizuno?!" the teacher cried, aghast at the sight of his student when she appeared in the door of the classroom.

"P…Professor, please hear me out," Ami started, an audible stammer in her voice. She knew the man was a very expressive person, but she had hoped that his reaction wouldn't be quite so alarmed. Now wasn't the time to get rattled, though.

"I realize… I realize this is unusual," she continued, "but it's necessary for a cultural study I'm conducting. As an arrangement with my tutor, I'm studying… nudism… in modern Japan."

She finally got it out. She'd delivered the explanation in as scholarly a manner as she could muster, but even so, she couldn't stop her legs from shaking. She could feel a cold sweat all over her body. Ami was terrified. What if this didn't work?

"N…Nudism, you say," he stammered, adjusting his glasses after the initial wave of shock passed. Not completely, mind you—even with the explanation of a cultural study… "To go to such extremes!" he cried. "Did you come all the way from home like that?"

"I was… escorted by a friend," Ami said. A small lie. "I'll be seeing them after class, as well." This part, at least, was true.

Whispers filled the room, as students who had known Ami had trouble believing she would go this far, even for an extracurricular study project. "She made herself a case study… on nudism?" Ami heard one person mumble. "She's obviously just ecchi," another chimed in, judgementally. "You think it's permanent?" a third inquired, intonations of hopeful lechery in his voice.

"All right, quiet down, class," the teacher commanded. "Ami, are you sure this is quite necessary? It's already proving to be a… distraction."

"Sir, uh… that's… part of the study," she claimed. "I'm to monitor the social reaction, and especially the social resistance, to… nudist individuals." Ami blushed deeply, without realizing it. She should've known. There was no way this was going to work.

"I… I see," the professor replied.

"It's… only for today, the case study," Ami stated, hoping against hope that it would be the truth. If Usagi fulfilled her part of the deal, it should be.

"Well…"

The teacher looked around, gauging the cooperation of the class.

"…all right," he finally acquiesced. "For the sake of education, I suppose I have to allow it. Just… please do your best to stay focused, all right?" he finished. He then turned back to the rest of the class, already at their seats. "That goes for the rest of you, too!"

"Yeees, siiir…"

Ami breathed an enormous sigh of relief. Amazingly, through luck or divine aid, the gambit had worked. She was now attending her cram school, nude, surrounded by classmates she had known for weeks, months, many of whom were now ogling her unabashedly. She could feel their lustful gazes all over her entire body, bobbed hair to tiny toes. The male students to either side of her probably weren't able to read a single paragraph the whole session, as much as their eyes were glued to her.

By the time class session had ended, she was sure everyone in the class, male and female, had a full mental photo album of every inch of her body, which had been on full, uncensored display. She could hardly bear the thought. When she saw Mako poke her head through the door, she didn't know whether to celebrate or cry. She couldn't have arrived a minute sooner.

"Mako! There you are! Where's Usagi?"

"Where's Usagi? Where's your head?!" Mako cried in disbelief. "What kind of pervert teacher have you got for this class?!"

"Oh, right," Ami replied, apparently not concerned with Mako's sudden distrust in her cram school instructor. She rushed back over to her desk and pulled out the envelope she had brought with her, handing it promptly to her friend.

"What's this, now? Don't ignore me," Mako scolded, subconsciously reaching to remove her blouse as she did so. Meanwhile, a familiar thump was heard behind her as a small plastic bag, apparently thrown from down the hall, landed behind Mako's legs. Ami scooted around her to retrieve her clothing.

"What is that?" Mako asked with curiosity, her blouse, skirt, shoes, and socks now off and her bra beginning to follow. As Ami got dressed, she told Mako simply to open the envelope.

"Whoa… see that? Now Ami's friend is getting naked!" a male voice was heard whispering less-than-quietly down the hall. Similar comments were coming from several other students who were a little late getting out of the classroom.

"What's their beef?" Mako asked, naked and offended. "You'd think they'd never seen a naked girl before."

"They, um… probably hadn't, before today," Ami commented, suddenly feeling very shy and embarrassed about what had transpired that day. "What does the note say?"

"Eh?" Mako pulled the contents of the envelope out. Inside was… yet another envelope, this one even smaller. It read:

"Give this sealed envelope to Minako Aino. Until then, you will not be able to dress yourself."

"What's this, a joke?" Mako laughed. "Not able to dress myself… I'm fifteen, for Pete's sake. Watch, I can just-"

Mako reached down at the small pile of clothing she had just dropped on the floor, but in doing so, felt an overwhelming sense of otherworldly dread come over her. Like three ghosts had just passed through her, at the same time as someone had walked over her future grave. Those clothes… they were a bad luck charm. No question. If she wore them right now, they would be the death of her. This was what Mako felt.

"No way," she gasped.

"The same thing happened to me and Usagi," Ami warned. "You have to pass it on to Mina. I suspect it's going to go through all four of us, but I don't know what will happen after Mina…"

"This is crazy!" Mako shouted, offended at the situation. "I came here on my bike! How am I supposed to get to Mina's place?"

"Well, you can't stay here," Ami observed. "They're going to lock up the building."

"Shoot, and the staff'll probably call the cops if they see me like this…" Mako lamented.

"If I were you…" thought Ami, "I would get there as fast as possible. You should bike along the canal. Pedestrian traffic will be a lot lower than on the roadways."

"Lower isn't low enough!" Mako cried, sporting a panicked blush. "There's no way I won't pass at least a few people!"

"If you go by fast enough, maybe they won't see your face?" Ami posited, trying to be helpful. It came off as somewhat detached. "I don't think there's much I can do for you past this point… I just paged Mina, and she said she's at home, so you don't have to worry about missing her."

 _Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!_

A bell chimed, signaling that the staff were about to make their final rounds of the building, closing the learning facility. Mako felt so frustrated she could cry.

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

* * *

With Ami departed for her home, Mako straddled her bike seat, marking the first time she had done so in the nude. There were already several people staring awkwardly at her in front of the building—the faster she could get out of the populated city area and onto the dirt path along the canal, the better.

Mako wasted no time taking off. _At least my private parts are against the seat,_ she reasoned to herself. _They'll be less visible that way… I just wish I had shaved this morning…_

Her groin area was fairly conspicuous, despite her best efforts, and there was no hiding her plentiful assets up top. It was all she could do to pedal as quickly as she could, hoping to minimize her time in the spotlight. The sun was setting, which meant the light was getting a little dimmer… this also meant it was rush hour, as everyone who worked on weekends was on their way home. Thankfully, not many people, she imagined, commuted by means of this dirt footpath.

She passed by a jogger or two heading in the same direction she was; a young couple, looking very curious about the sight of her; an older gentleman who was obviously staring; no children, that much she could be thankful of.

 _It's not my fault… It's not my fault… Don't stare…_

This thought raced through her mind as her bare feet cycled furiously on flat pedals. By the time she reached Mina's neighborhood, and finally her home, Mako felt like half the city had seen her on her excursion. The actual number was much lower, of course, but nonetheless, it had been the most embarrassing and trying thing Mako had ever done.

By Mina's, she no longer cared about spreading the curse to another victim. In fact, she felt a little bit entitled, as if seeing Mina undergo the same trial would make her feel a little better about what she had just been through. It was a little offputting to Mako, realizing how much she wanted to see her friend go through this awful experience—but that's what it means to be part of a team, right? Shared pain and shared success.

 _Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Mina opened the door readily, as if she had been waiting nearby.

"Ami told me you'd be coming over, I figured it was an… oh… oh!"

Mina didn't know at all how to react when she saw Mako's naked, panting self on her doorstep.

"No… time to… explain," Mako managed to blurt out, holding up the envelope she had been instructed to deliver. "Take this."

Mina took it from her friend's hand, obediently, curious for an explanation as to what in the world was going on. As soon as she touched the envelope, a thought clicked in her head.

"Oh! I'm sorry, what's wrong with me? You must feel so silly like that," Mina apologized to her friend. Where were her manners? Letting her friend be the only one naked. Of course it would make Mina a far better host if she were naked, as well. That was just the logical way to make a naked houseguest feel welcomed.

Like her friends before her, Mina hastily began disrobing, so as not to offend her guest. Mako was too busy catching her breath to pay Mina's curious logic much mind. Her eyes closed and her hand on Mina's doorframe, Mako heard the familiar sound of a plastic bag landing with a thump behind her. She glanced back to see the expected sack of clothing, seemingly dropped from the sky, and immediately picked it up to open it.

As Mako redressed herself, Mina did not think to question why she was still removing her own clothing. By the time she had finished, Mako was slipping on her blouse.

"Eh? You're getting dressed now? Here I did this just for you," Mina pouted, motioning to her own nude figure. Mako looked up, herself a little confused about how quickly or why Mina had undressed, but satisfied with how readily the curse had been transferred.

"Did you read the note?" Mako asked. Curious, Mina looked down at the envelope.

"Give this sealed envelope to Minako Aino…" she started.

"No, no, open it," instructed Mako. Mina did as she was told to find yet another, smaller envelope inside this one. Once again, it had writing on the outside telling her to deliver it to Rei Hino, with the condition that she could not wear clothes until this was done.

"I have to go see Rei… like this?" Mina asked, in disbelief.

"We all had to do it," Mako affirmed.

"Well, it's sunset… what if I just wait till tomorrow?"

"Are you going to go try to meet her on a Sunday morning?" asked Mako.

"Man, you're right, she'll probably be doing miko-y stuff all morning…"

Neither of them had any idea what Rei's schedule on Sunday mornings entailed, or how "miko-y" it was.

"I guess… I have to catch her before she goes to bed, then," Mina acquiesced. "But it's already this late, and Rei's across town…"

"The trains are still running a little while longer," Mako suggested.

"N-no way!" cried Mina. "You want me to go on a PUBLIC train… like this?"

"You won't get there if you don't," Mako surmised. "Otherwise you'll have to go tomorrow… and that'll be in the daylight."

"But… but…"

"The ticket machine is automatic," Mako reasoned, "and nobody rides the trains at this hour. You'll probably have the whole car to yourself."

Mina huffed and scoffed and wanted to argue more, but she knew that Mako was right. She really hated when other people were right. It was now or never. Looking down at her clothing, she knew putting it all back on wasn't an option.

"I have to get home myself," said Mako, a little dismissively. "The day's already over… good luck!"

"H…hey! Wait!" Mina cried in futility after her friend, already biking away. She was now alone, naked, and afraid of what she knew she would now have to do.

 _It's just like Mako said… there's no other way…_ she told herself, trying to gather her courage. She couldn't stay home, spend all day tomorrow like this… what if she didn't make it to Rei's even then? If Monday came, would she have to go to school this way? Perish the thought.

 _You can do this, V! It's just like fighting a scary youma. Grit your teeth and give it your all. Give 'em all a good… show._

She hesitated with this last word, realizing the compromising implications in her current, naked state. She was usually very theatrical with her antics as Sailor V, but right now she wanted to be anything but noticeable.

Should she tell Artemis she was heading out? He was still up in her room…

 _No, no. The fewer people know about this, the better._

Time was wasting. Mina knew that, and she knew every second she hesitated was a second Artemis or her parents might enter the foyer, forcing her to explain herself. _Now or never!_

Without a coat or umbrella or anything else at all, Mina took off out the open front door, power walking behind street lights and stone walls to the nearest subway entrance a couple streets down. There was nobody out on the streets—very fortunate for her.

The subway station would be another story, though. There was always that one strange fellow who seemed to hang out like he lived there, at the very least. The attendants were off shift by now, mostly… but the handful of people wandering the station… there had to be a few, right?

Just as anticipated, Mina saw a couple of people idling around at the terminal. Her heartbeat slowed as she entered stealth mode, making herself as discreet as possible behind a pillar until the train she was waiting for arrived.

She watched carefully as the other passengers boarded, looking for a car that no one else had entered. Fortunately for her, she found one, and dashed for the door before it closed, but after everyone else had left the train platform. She managed to squeeze in just in time.

 _Made it!_ she congratulated herself.

She buckled down and glanced around. She was alone in the car. Still, anyone could come wandering in at any time, looking for a different seat or just exploring the train. If they did, they would see her sitting there, completely nude, like some kind of pervert looking for kicks on a public train on a Saturday night.

Mina crossed her legs and tried to appear as respectable as she could, in her present state. She was visibly nervous at the prospect of getting caught.

 _It's okay, Mina,_ she told herself, _if you don't go looking for trouble, trouble won't find you. You can make it through this._

As she thought this, she heard a door open behind her. Her heart skipped a beat. Footsteps. Mina's eyes darted back and forth, looking for some cover, _any_ cover, but finding no such sanctuary. The footsteps grew closer. This was it. Her life was about to be over. Mina closed her eyes.

The footsteps came to a stop next to her. Several seconds passed in silence. Then…

"Hey, can you tell me… are you some kinda… exhibitionist?"

This was the **last** sentence Mina wanted to hear. She immediately looked up at the source of the voice to see a young man, college freshman maybe, hovering over her, curiously. There hadn't been any kind of threatening intonation to his voice, but in this situation… Mina couldn't be too careful. Maybe it would be best to just play along for now.

"Eh… k… kind of…" she said shyly, unable to come up with any sort of remotely valid excuse for why else she would be in this situation right now.

"You like to be seen naked, huh?" he said, outright. Mina blushed at the invalid accusation, the deep shade of pink spreading well beyond her face. There was an all-too-awkward pause between the two humans, as the young man tried to process her inability to answer.

"Were you hoping, maybe… someone would do dirty things to you… or something?"

"N…no…" she again stammered, more readily this time. "I'm just… riding the train like this…"

He looked at her, analytically. She felt like the subject of some strange experiment, as fascinated as this guy seemed to be with the idea of meeting her like this. Gears were turning behind his head. Whatever he chose as his next course of action would determine whether he was going to leave the train in one piece or not… or it would, if Mina had thought to bring her transformation pen with her. She was unarmed.

Finally, after several awkward moments, his voice resumed.

"Okay, that's cool. Sorry to bug you."

He then walked off like nothing had happened. Mina couldn't believe it. Was he really not going to do anything? Not going to report her? It was hard to imagine, but it seemed he really had just been curious about her and nothing more.

Mina breathed a huge sigh of relief. Of all the ways that could have gone, she imagined she got off pretty darn lucky. As soon as the train arrived at her stop, she hastily made her way to the exit, across the platform, and back into the shadows.

Night had fallen proper by now, and there were plenty of shadows to duck and hide in on her way to Rei's. The last leg of her adventure was certainly the easiest. In fact, after that heartstopping encounter on the train, Mina felt like she could handle anything that was thrown at her.

With confident steps, she ascended the stairs leading up to the Hino family shrine, hurried around to Rei's room, and promptly got her attention from the bedroom window.

"…eh?"

Rei was obviously very confused to see her friend standing naked in the night outside her bedroom window, waving her down. Maybe it was Zero in some sort of weird Mina disguise?

"Rei, you twit, open the window!" Mina called impatiently. Even muffled by the glass, Rei could tell it was definitely Mina.

"What's going on?" Rei asked assertively through the now-open window.

"No time. Here." Mina handed Rei the final envelope, all too eager to be rid of it. "Open this."

Wasting no time, Rei did as she was told and found a single note card inside.

"Honestly," Rei scolded, holding up the card, "do you have any idea how late it is? I was just getting ready for bed."

As if to guilt Mina for arriving so late, Rei proceeded to begin changing into what she believed to be her regular nighttime attire, pretending her friend wasn't there at all. At the same time, Mina heard the expected _thump!_ behind her, signaling that her part in this convoluted chain quest was finally over.

"Nice PJ's," Mina remarked, teasingly, after she had finished dressing herself.

"What? I always sleep in the nude," answered Rei.

"Always?"

"I… think so," Rei replied, suddenly questioning the fact. "Anyway, the card… I saw Zero's name on it… let's see here…"

 _Meet me atop the hillside near your family's shrine. Only with my permission will you be allowed to wear clothing again._

"What's that supposed to mean, 'allowed?'" Rei criticized.

"You'll find out tomorrow if you don't do what the note says," Mina warned. "Hey, by the way, I know this is sudden, but, uh… mind if I stay over?"

"Now?"

"I kind of caught the last train."

"Ugh. For goodness'… all right, fine. You stay here while I go meet Zero."

"You're going now?" asked Mina, surprised by Rei's initiative.

"I don't like it," Rei blushed, "but I need his help performing an exorcism."

"An exorcism?!"

"On _those._ " Rei pointed down judgementally to the clothes she had just taken off, as if they were spawned from the Devil's own tailor shop. Right now, they felt to her like the most evil things in the world.

"O…kay, then," Mina answered, deciding not to question whatever strange spell or hypnosis Zero had implemented in this curse of his. It would be better for Rei to get it taken care of than to have to explain to her family why she couldn't get dressed tomorrow morning. Not to mention, from the sound of it, if she were to stay in her room tonight she'd probably feel the need to perform some kind of weird binding spell on her clothes, or something. Mina didn't want to be involved in any such rituals.

Rei climbed out the window, and Mina in, effectively swapping roles. Rei was now the one outside, naked… not for the first time, but certainly the first since she had had her last fateful encounter with Zero. It was still a very new, very awkward feeling to her, being exposed to the elements like this.

"I'll be back," Rei stated, trying to sound brave. Mina promised to hold the fort in the meantime.

And thus, Rei departed. Across her backyard, into the forest, and up the winding hill she went, all wearing nothing but her birthday suit in the chill night air.

There was always something mystical about the forest, especially at night. This was the time of year the fireflies liked to be out. Their dancing lights gave the night trail a very spiritual vibe… otherworldly, even. Rei had heard an old folk story about fireflies guiding the spirits of the dead to and from the afterlife, or something like that. Now, walking barefoot through nature, specs of light dancing and hovering all around her, she could certainly believe it.

Truth be told, Rei realized she had never felt closer to nature than she did now. She was afraid, true… but that was part of the human experience, being afraid. The silence of the night was bringing her to reflect on things like this more than she usually would walking this path. Signs of life surrounded her… but not a person to be seen. In a setting like this, Rei felt like she was the only person in the whole world. And curiously, it didn't bother her. It felt… enlightening, somehow.

She didn't want to admit it, but… Rei was enjoying this. It was… peaceful.

Summer nights were warm and humid, and yet void of the sun's harsh rays; filled instead with the mystical beauty of darkness. It was not a frightening darkness, but a welcoming kind… like a warm embrace. A queer sort of enlightenment, an unorthodox sort of wisdom. That was the beauty of the night.

As she reflected on all this, Rei found herself approaching the summit of the forested hill. At the top was a small clearing, and in the center, floating only a scant couple feet above the ground, was a familiar silhouette, also apparently occupied taking in the sights and sounds and sensations of the night surrounding them. There was a certain grace to the way he seemed to be laying on the air.

"Zero?" Rei called, breaking the crickets' chorus. The silhouette slowly dropped to the ground, revealing her master. Without a word, he turned to face her, also wearing nothing but the skin he was (presumably) born in. He opened his arms, and Rei approached, assuming, or at least telling herself, that she didn't have a say in the matter.

The two embraced and shared a long, gentle kiss that Rei hadn't been expecting. It seemed the night air had put him into something of a passionate mood… but not so passionate that he was going to do anything too boundary-breaking.

After their shared moment, Zero separated from her with a smile, and stated, "You did well. Your friends, too."

With that, Rei felt a curious sense of epiphany, as Zero silently rose into the night sky. By the time he was quite a ways up, Rei thought to call for him:

"Hey! H-hey, wait!"

But he was already gone.

"Aren't I supposed to get my clothes back?"


	8. Chapter 4: Training

"Honestly. The nerve of him, coming up with a stunt like that," Ami chastised.

"It was like something he ripped straight out of a hentai doujin," Mina added.

"And then he has the gall to call a meeting! Like he's a Scout now!" Mako called out.

"Girls, settle down," started Rei, acting as the cool and collected member of the group for once. "We still need to bide our time… we don't know what his real motives are yet."

"Easy for you to say," Usagi pouted. "I heard all you had to do was go out on your own property."

"My family doesn't _own_ the mountain, Usagi!"

"Yeah, but it's not like there would've been people there," Mako remarked. "You had it easy, compared to the rest of us."

Rei steamed. "Why, you…!"

"Rei _is_ right, though," Ami started, in an attempt to quell the bickering. "We still haven't figured out the enemy's goal. I don't like it either, but… for now, our reputations will just have to take the blow… for the good of the world."

 _My oh my,_ a familiar voice chimed, _it sounds like you're talking about some heavy stuff._

As if on cue, Zero descended from the sky, right into their little picnic circle.

"Don't you remember? I'm dealing with the youma now, so the world is good and safe." This he said aloud, rather than employing telepathy.

"Why are you making us do all this?" Mako demanded, speaking her mind. "Is all this just a bunch of your pervy fantasies?"

"M…Mako!" Ami scolded, wary of their enemy's unknown level of power.

"My reasons?" he began. "Hmm…" Zero seemed to seriously contemplate answering the question for them, if only for a few moments. "Unfortunately, if I told you the purpose, it would defeat the purpose. In a way, you could say the point is for you to figure out why you're doing this yourselves. Bit of a catch 22, I'm afraid."

"Great, a non-answer," Mako pouted, making sure Zero saw her scorn.

"Why have you called us here?" Usagi asked, inoffensively.

"I thought you'd wonder that," Zero answered. "I know our last ordeal was just yesterday, but today, we're here to play a game."

"A… game?"

"It's a lovely Sunday afternoon for it, don't you think?" he asked.

The girls knew better by now than to believe anything Zero concocted was anything close to innocent.

"What kind of game?" Ami asked, with suspicion.

"A punishment game."

The group let out a collective sigh of exasperation. Of course that was the sort of thing he'd come up with.

"Oh, but don't worry, all six of us can play."

"You mean _you're_ going to be playing with us?" Mako said, doubtingly.

"On _equal terms?_ " Mina questioned.

"That's right," he replied. "Take it as a sign of comradery."

 _Didn't see HIM running through town naked yesterday_ , Usagi thought to herself.

"Now, sit," he instructed, "I'll explain the rules."

The girls hesitantly did as instructed.

"I have with me a single die. Whoever holds the die is the Master, and rolling it will decide her Servant. One for Usagi, two for Ami, three for Rei, four for Mako, five for Mina, and six for myself."

"Hey, four's unlucky!"

Zero stared a moment, surprised as Mako's apparent superstition.

"All right, I'll be four, then," he said. "Anyway… when a Servant is chosen, it's up to the Master to come up with a task for her. Kind of like a dare. Something she won't want to do. If the Servant fulfills the task, she will get a point and the Master will lose one. If she fails or refuses, it's reversed: the Master gets a point and the Servant loses one."

"What are the points for?" Rei asked doubtfully.

"The first to three points wins the game, and will be awarded with anything their heart desires that is in my power to grant. Like a free genie wish. The losers will each play their own unique punishment games, depending on their final point totals. You don't want to be the lowest."

The girls all glanced at each other with worry in their eyes.

"I don't suppose we have the option not to play?" Ami asked, covering all bases.

"Those who refuse will be issued a punishment equal to the lowest point result."

"I thought so…" Ami sighed.

"Oh, but don't be like that. Think of the things you could wish for. Anything from a new CD player to your own mansion, or a mountain of gold. I could set you up to study abroad, or even help you track down the perfect boyfriend. The sky's the limit."

He knew all their weaknesses. The girls all glanced at each other once more. This was going to be a competition… every woman for herself, huh? Not that they really had a choice in the matter. Someone would have to be the winner, so it might as well be them, each one thought. Someone would also inevitably have to be the loser…

"Hey, wait, what if _you_ have the lowest point total?" Ami asked.

Zero snickered. "I won't. But hypothetically, I suppose I would have to give you all a collective group wish. Use it to make me do whatever awful thing you wish done to me, or use it for your own benefit. Whatever you like."

This could be their chance. If the five of them won this somehow, they could be the ones in control of Zero, and by his own devices. This might be the only way for them to beat him. Ami looked around at the others, most of whom seemed to have come to the same conclusion on their own. Each of them… all of them were resolute.

"All right, we'll play your game," Ami stated.

 _Like we have a choice…_ Mako complained, internally.

"Perfect. One last thing to mention—each time a person gains a point, they become Master and it's their turn to roll. That means if you fail an order, you'll have lost a point as well as your turn," Zero elaborated. "Now, since we've no order to begin with… I suppose I should go first. Any objections?"

Ami contemplated for a moment, considering the suggestion of a more impartial dice roll to decide the first turn's Master, but realized that this worked out better in their favor. As long as Zero's first Servant fulfilled her task, he would start the game in the negatives.

Ami shook her head at the other girls. No one objected. Zero cast the die.

"One. Usagi it is," he said.

"Ehh? Me already?" Usagi whined.

"All right, then. Let's see…" he thought to himself, boasting an exaggerated thinking pose. "For your order, Usagi… I want you to wet yourself within the next ten seconds."

"Wha…what?!"

"Usagi, do it!" Ami shouted, ordering her in an uncharacteristically forceful tone.

"I… but…" Usagi fretted this way and that, caught off guard by the outrageous request and not sure she was willing to take one for the team.

"Nine. Eight. Seven."

The pressure she felt from her friends certainly wasn't helping, and quick thinking was never Usagi's strong suit to begin with. Time was running out… no time to think about it.

"Six. Five."

Usagi blushed deeply and let out the tiniest of noises as a wet spot began to form on her undergarments.

"Four. Three."

No good—it wasn't obvious enough. She raised her skirt and separated her legs to show that she was doing it. Nevermind that they were all in a public park, or that there may be passersby.

The dark spot grew bigger, until finally a puddle began to pool under Usagi, now bright red from what she was being made to do in front of everyone. The countdown stopped, and in a few seconds, she was finished. Thoroughly soaked.

 _Sniff…_ she cried a little. The other girls sympathized, but could say nothing to help her. Silence dwindled.

"Well, I'm impressed," Zero stated, casually. "Point one for Usagi. Looks like I'm in the negative. I'll have to step up my game."

 **{ Usagi: 1 ~ Ami: 0 ~ Rei: 0 ~ Zero: -1 ~ Mina: 0 ~ Mako: 0 }**

"It's okay, you did us good," Mina said, patting her friend on the back supportively. The girls made no attempt to hide the fact that this was now a team campaign—the scouts vs. Zero.

"That means it's your turn," said Zero, handing Usagi the die. She took a moment to stifle her tears and put her game face back on. She looked at the die carefully, as if doing so would let her influence its roll, before tossing it to the ground below.

"Two. That's… Ami."

Ami had hoped he might have forgotten who each number represented. She only planned on correcting him if Zero tried to sneak out of his turn, but it looked like he was on top of it, like he always seemed to be.

"All right, that means you have to come up with a dare for her," Zero explained.

Usagi thought about it for a moment. She knew that their goal was to get Zero to lose… there was no point in going after each other. But in order for him to lose, someone would have to win. The game wouldn't end until someone reached three points… so who was it going to be? Surely none of their wishes would be any more noble or deserving than the others'.

It might as well be her, right? And besides that… Ami had been rather demanding just now. Usagi wasn't the type to hold a grudge, but that didn't mean she liked being yelled at or ordered around, either. The poorly-hidden pout on Usagi's face was all it took to convey this to the others.

"Usagi, I-"

"Ami has to lick my pee!" she proclaimed, interrupting Ami whilst pointing to her own crotch. Without thinking, she had blurted out the first thing that came to her mind that Ami would never ever do, but realized it sounded gross and kind of immature, hearing it out loud. Like a dare a five-year-old would make.

"That's disgusting," Ami said dismissively. "Absolutely not." She didn't particularly care about the wish, so she didn't plan on doing anything she didn't want to unless it was Zero's point on the line.

"You can be so petty, Usagi," Rei scolded. It was obvious to all of them that Usagi was just pouting about being the first victim. She pouted at Rei just the same.

 **{ Usagi: 2 ~ Ami: -1 ~ Rei: 0 ~ Zero: -1 ~ Mina: 0 ~ Mako: 0 }**

"That's another point. Your turn again, Usagi," Zero stated.

Usagi rolled. Five—Mina.

"All right, bring it on," Mina said, confidently. The show of sportsmanship helped to lighten Usagi's mood and make it feel a little more like a real game. She decided to give Mina an easier one.

"Okay, lessee, um…" Usagi began. "How about you… go jump in the fountain over there?"

"Fine!" Mina was off.

 _No!_ Ami thought to herself. Usagi wasn't playing to win—she was just going off her feelings, as usual. Mina, though… _If we'd all just continued to turn down Usagi's dares, we might have gotten her to three points and ended this here and now. Chances were good Zero would be picked again, and we could get him down to -2. Why am I the only one taking this seriously?_

Mina hopped into the water, full body, perhaps a little too eagerly. She had a little bit of a competitive streak at times. She came back dripping wet and looking like she felt rather accomplished. Her white shirt was now completely transparent, but as long as she had her bra on it wasn't the end of the world.

"Point, Mina."

 **{ Usagi: 1 ~ Ami: -1 ~ Rei: 0 ~ Zero: -1 ~ Mina: 1 ~ Mako: 0 }**

"My turn!"

Mina rolled the die. Four. That was Zero.

 _Good. This is exactly what we need_ , Ami thought to herself.

Mina grinned deviously.

"Make it something really crazy!" Mako rooted.

Zero's confidence did not falter.

"I want you…" Mina started, contemplating the things she could get him to do, "to suck yourself off, right here and now."

Rei gasped; Mako snorted at the mental image of Zero contorting himself, trying to accomplish the impossible act. At least, she was pretty sure it was impossible.

"Is that an order, then?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, it is," Mina boasted.

"As you command… Master."

Zero disrobed from the waist down, and the girls leaned in to see him make the attempt… but he didn't bend down. They were all left wondering why, until they saw, of all things, another Zero walk into their frame of vision from somewhere behind them. Without a word, he began performing the act on the first Zero, right there in the public park, drawing much more attention from onlookers than the previous two dares ever could have. A third Zero played crowd control.

The girls were in disbelief, having never expected this turn of events. When the act was finished, the second Zero turned to Mina and showed her the result before swallowing. This, in turn, caused Mina to flush bright red and perform her own nervous swallow.

 _Damn… that was actually kind of hot_ , she thought to herself.

The first Zero then walked off as the second Zero sat to take his place.

 **{ Usagi: 1 ~ Ami: -1 ~ Rei: 0 ~ Zero: 0 ~ Mina: 0 ~ Mako: 0 }**

"I guess that's a point for me."

"Ah… well… that's not really what I meant…" the shaken Mina tried to argue.

"Oh, come now. That was clearly myself," he defended. "What, you wanted me to curl up like an armadillo? My back doesn't bend that far."

"Then you should have lost the dare," Ami campaigned, hoping to keep Zero's point count low.

Zero tsked.

"The order has to be something the player is physically capable of. It wouldn't be fair of me to ask you to levitate, would it?"

Ami bit her lip and relented. That was a fair point. That also meant it was Zero's turn. He picked up and rolled the die… another two: Ami.

Ami suddenly grew very nervous.

"Ami, is it?" spoke Zero. "Let's see, let's see… how about…"

A devious smile made its way across his face.

"…you lick Usagi's pee?"

The grin he wore was borderline sinister. Zero had a nasty way of putting people into exactly the spots they didn't want to be in. He'd seen her reaction to the spontaneous order Usagi had previously made out of spite… and he wasn't stupid. He knew how badly Ami wanted him to lose. She knew that he knew.

Ami glared at him, angry that he would go so far. The girls looked worried. The wet spot on Usagi's panties had now settled and turned a proper yellow, and the smell was noticeable. The very idea rubbed Ami in all the wrong ways, but…

 _This could be our only chance to take him out…_ she thought, bitterly. _What's more… as much pressure as I'm putting on the girls to do their parts… how would it look if I backed out now? I'd be a hypocrite._

Ami knew she didn't have a choice in the matter, and that was perhaps what she hated about it most. She'd analyzed every angle, and there was only one course of action for her.

"Right between her legs," Zero elaborated, obviously enjoying Ami's discomfort. "Your whole tongue."

That meant no skittish poke-licks, she had to go all in in order to meet the order. Ami hadn't felt this embittered towards someone since the Dark Moon warriors… and they'd been trying to kill her.

With a hesitant, reluctant motion, Ami slowly moved towards Usagi, who herself looked to be questioning things. She was caught in the middle of a very awkward situation between Ami and Zero, and knew that Ami would be mad if she didn't cooperate—it would sabotage their chance to take a point from Zero.

Ami lowered her head between Usagi's spread legs, held her breath, and took a big, full drag with her tongue. The taste was worse than the smell.

Afterwards, Ami quickly pulled herself back up and resumed glaring at Zero, wearing her best face of determination as she fervently fought any tears away.

 **{ Usagi: 1 ~ Ami: 0 ~ Rei: 0 ~ Zero: -1 ~ Mina: 0 ~ Mako: 0 }**

"Good job. Point for Ami," said Zero. "Right now Usagi's got one point, and I'm at negative one."

Ami silently rolled the die, and got a six—Mako.

"I order you to punch Zero," she said.

Zero failed to withhold a chuckle. Ami wasn't even trying to hide how bitter she was. And she was usually so collected, too.

Mako was all too happy to cooperate, and wasted no time going over and socking him square in the face, resulting in a black eye that lasted for roughly five seconds before healing itself away.

"Not much of a dare," he laughed, "but you're the Master, I suppose." He wasn't even bothered by being hit.

"I don't really care about my points," Ami elaborated, a little snidely. "Might as well get a little satisfaction out of my turn." _And besides,_ she thought to herself, _that told me a little bit about his combat aptitude. If it comes down to a fight, we know now that he has a rapid healing factor. That's… not good._

 **{ Usagi: 1 ~ Ami: -1 ~ Rei: 0 ~ Zero: -1 ~ Mina: 0 ~ Mako: 1 }**

It was now Mako's turn, and she rolled a three. Rei.

"Okay, Rei… how about you go and kiss Usagi?" Mako ordered with a catty grin.

"Ehh?" Usagi reacted. "How come everyone's using me in their dares now?"

"Nothing personal," Mako explained. "I just know you're the last person here Rei would kiss."

"Whatzat s'posed to mean?" Usagi pouted.

"B…bah! You think I won't do it?" Rei boasted, annoyed. "Watch me!"

She motioned towards Usagi, who immediately panicked and backed away.

"Waaah! I don't want to!"

This resulted in the somewhat ridiculous sight of Rei chasing Usagi around the pavement, the latter desperate to avoid the former, holding Rei at arm's length when she finally did catch up.

"I don't wanna! I don't wanna! I don't wanna!"

"Jeez, Usagi… it's not like I want to, either…!"

Rei finally relented, backing off and rubbing her chin where Usagi had shoved her away. She felt pretty scummy trying to force it on Usagi, even it if meant it would cost her a point.

"Order failed, then. Point, Mako," called Zero.

 **{ Usagi: 1 ~ Ami: -1 ~ Rei: -1 ~ Zero: -1 ~ Mina: 0 ~ Mako: 2 }**

Mako rolled again. It was Zero this time. She eyed him with a determined stare, sure she could come up with something he would refuse. This was game point, after all.

"Eat shit."

The girls blinked in disbelief. Zero stared at her awkwardly.

"You realize you'd have to watch me do it… is that really what you want?"

…

Well, suffice it to say, it was Zero's turn next.

 **{ Usagi: 1 ~ Ami: -1 ~ Rei: -1 ~ Zero: 0 ~ Mina: 0 ~ Mako: 1 }**

A three, this time. Rei.

Rei swallowed nervously. All pressure would be on her to perform whatever Zero asked, if their plan to dethrone him was to succeed.

"I want you to play the rest of this game completely naked."

"Wh…what? But… but we're in a public park…! There might even be shrine regulars here…" she tried to defend.

The girls all looked at Rei, sympathetically, but not forgivingly. Zero did not change his order. Rei looked all around her. There were people on all sides, mostly passersby, a couple of children… some folks standing in the distance, watching their game to see what would happen next. All eyes were on here. If she were to undress now, it would be in front of an audience—one who knew who she was.

"I… I don't think-"

"You have to do it, Rei," Ami insisted, fierce determination in her eyes.

Rei wanted to cry, but she knew that Ami was right. It was her turn to do what she had to for the greater good. With trembling hands, she swallowed her pride and began slowly pulling off her clothing. Shoes, socks, blouse, shorts, then finally her undergarments. They didn't come off easily—she had to fight her own body in order to fulfill the task, but finally, she sat, completely bare, with her clothing in a small pile beside her. Beet red, bare naked, in the middle of a crowded park. She heard cameras.

"You continue to impress me, girls."

 **{ Usagi: 1 ~ Ami: -1 ~ Rei: 0 ~ Zero: -1 ~ Mina: 0 ~ Mako: 1 }**

Rei, still trembling with embarrassment, took her roll. Two—Ami.

"Ami… at least take your shirt off, okay?" the shaken Rei requested. Normally, Ami would have refused, since she felt she had nothing to gain by fighting her fellow scouts for points in this ludicrous game… but she felt sorry for Rei, seeing how exposed she felt. Ami didn't like it, but if it was just her top…

"…all right."

Ami acquiesced and removed her own blouse, and even her bra. It was a daring thing to do in public, but after seeing the line Rei had had to cross, she felt it was a sign of comradery to go at least that far.

 **{ Usagi: 1 ~ Ami: 0 ~ Rei: -1 ~ Zero: -1 ~ Mina: 0 ~ Mako: 1 }**

Ami gripped the die in her hand, firmly, and cast it to the ground. Another four—Zero. She was getting awfully lucky this game.

However, Ami did not immediately issue a command. Instead, she contemplated a moment, then turned her attention to Zero.

"Before I issue an order," she started, "I want to ask. What _exactly_ is off limits in this game?"

Zero was quick to reply. "Anything that the Servant is physically incapable of, or anything that would cause the Servant permanent bodily harm, is out. The barrier should be inhibition—something they could do, but wouldn't want to. Use your judgement."

No permanent harm… that was good. This way nobody could issue the order to chop of a finger, or anything similarly gruesome. Not that it would probably matter to a being like Zero. Still, if he, an immortal, was implementing a rule like that… and if he had been so quick to mention it, no less… was it because he was worried about receiving an order to harm himself, or was the rule not for his sake? Maybe…

Ami had a theory. It was a risky one, but…

"Zero… I want you to hit me as hard as you can."

"What?!" the other girls all cried in unison.

"Ami, are you insane? You have no idea how powerful he is!" Mako feared.

"He's a god…!" Mina fretted. "A blow from him and you might never wake up!"

Ami's face was determined. She did not change her order. She had considered, perhaps, ordering him to punch one of the others. Maybe Usagi would have been a safer bet, since he seemed to have a liking for her… but this was a gamble, and if Ami was the one making it, it wouldn't be fair to expect someone else to bear the consequences. It had to be her.

"You want me to… hit you?" Zero clarified, warily.

Ami took a deep breath, obviously worried about what might come. "That… that is my order."

She sat, eyes closed, mentally preparing herself for what might be coming. Zero remained seated, unmoving from his spot, himself in contemplation until finally, he spoke up again:

"I cannot."

The girls all looked at him in surprise, save for Usagi, who seemed to have predicted the response.

"You can't?" confirmed Ami.

"I will not hit you with my full strength, order or not. You've won this round, Ami."

 **{ Usagi: 1 ~ Ami: 1 ~ Rei: -1 ~ Zero: -2 ~ Mina: 0 ~ Mako: 1 }**

Ami breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Her gamble had paid off. It seemed Zero operated on a strange, complex series of principles that he firmly adhered to. Such principles were beyond the scope of Ami's understanding, if they told him that making them play this game in the first place was acceptable. He must have had a reason, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what it might be. At the very least, it seemed he was not so malicious that he would attack someone weaker than himself, even for personal gain.

Still, though… she couldn't take advantage of these principles of his too much. If the next person to roll Zero were to simply repeat the order, and he refused again, that would put him at -3 points, but… what if he went through with it this time? Each consecutive attempt would probably wear his patience thinner and thinner. Bad gamble.

No, the girls would have to play smarter than that. This was going to be a struggle for all of them, and no matter what happened, they were determined to beat Zero at his own game.

Ami rolled the die.

* * *

"Mina, if you're so eager, why don't you get undressed, too?"

Point, Mina.

* * *

"Usagi has to kiss Rei now! C'mon, do it already, you two!"

Point, Mina.

* * *

"Ufufu… Mako, why don't you show us all how you do it when you're at home by yourself?"

Point, a very brave Mako.

* * *

"Zero! I'm ordering you to put this bottle up your-"

…point, Zero, of course.

* * *

"Rei… why don't we do it right here, in front of everyone? Give 'em a good show."

Point, Zero.

* * *

"Usagi, I want you to go buy us some drinks from the public cornerstore down the road, all without wearing anything."

Point, Zero.

* * *

"Ami, can you bring Mako to climax with your mouth?"

Point, Zero. Though not for lack of (awkward) trying.

* * *

 **{ Usagi: -1 ~ Ami: -1 ~ Rei: -2 ~ Zero: 2 ~ Mina: 1 ~ Mako: 1 }**

The situation had grown dire. Employing a string of especially outrageous orders, Zero had mounted a comeback for the lead. Only Mina now stood in his way.

"Mina, my dear… it all rests with you," he said smugly. "Let's see, let's see… you're especially tough, so I need something big." Mina gulped. "How about you… spread yourself wide, and announce the view to everyone? Loud enough that the whole park can hear about what you're showing them."

No way. That was too much. They'd crossed a lot of boundaries today, and attracted way more attention than any of them were going to be able to live down, but… to go that far… that would be social suicide. Even the other girls looked utterly defeated at such a request.

The thought terrified Mina, but… this was the final call. Now or never. If she refused this order, Zero would win the game, and they would all be at his mercy. Only one thing to do… Mina didn't have a choice.

 _I… I can't believe I'm about to do this…_

She was already in her birthday suit, along with Rei and half of Ami, but that wasn't enough here. She would have to go all the way. And so, with trepid movements, Mina bent over, head down, backside up, with legs spread as far as they could be to each side.

 _Everyone… everyone can see…_

"Don't forget to show them the inside," Zero instructed.

Mina reluctantly took her hands and spread both holes wide.

"Now at full volume…"

"E…everyone…" she stammered.

"Full volume!"

"EVERYONE P-PLEASE LOOK AT MY P-PUSSY!"

A couple of the girls shed sympathetic tears. The big, open expanse of the park had no walls which could cause an echo, but poor Mina felt like her humiliation was resonating throughout the entire city. There she was, showing off her most secret areas for all the world to see, spreading them even, in a now semi-crowded public gathering place. She knew there would be no future for her. What felt like an eternity passed in that position, unmoving. Mina didn't even care anymore. The silence of her friends said all that it needed to.

"Well, there goes my cinch," Zero complained.

The girls all realized they had reached the bottom. They were done. There was no pulling Zero back down again—the best they could hope to do was end the game with one of their own in the lead.

It didn't matter what orders Mina gave to Ami. Even rolled twice in a row, even if it meant last place, Ami knew this had to end, now. Their spirits couldn't take any more of this. After two refused orders, the final score was in place.

 **{ Usagi: -1 ~ Ami: -3 ~ Rei: -2 ~ Zero: 2 ~ Mina: 3 ~ Mako: 1 }**

Mina had won the game with her daring move—and deservedly so. Ami would have to face the brunt of the punishment, with poor Rei only barely ahead. At the very least, Zero hadn't beaten them, but the girls sure didn't feel like they had won, either.


	9. Chapter 5: Result

Six days had passed since the punishment game saga. A very tense week of classes had come and gone, and now, the fated Saturday had arrived.

 _I want you to meet me on that hilltop near Rei's next Saturday at noon. I'll make my wish then… until then, I'd like to request that we put these kinds of gatherings on hold, so that I can work out the details of my request._

Zero had surprisingly agreed to these terms, that day Mina won his contest. Granted, in his words, he had been "out of ideas for a little while," anyway, but right now, the girls needed the extra time to prepare; as much as they could get. Ami had given Mina her script, and it was up to the five of them to decide where things would go next. Them, and Zero.

He gave them all their space during the school week, and when Saturday came, he waited patiently atop the forested hillside as the girls made their morning preparations. They ate hearty, geared up, expected the worst, hoped for the best. Now the five of them stood in front of Zero, in full form: Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus.

"I've come to bargain with you, Zero," Venus boldly declared.

"Eh? Who might you be? I'm waiting for someone named Mina," he stated flatly, putting on a confused act before dropping into a chuckle. "I kid, I kid. It's perfectly obvious it's you, but… why the transformations, girls? I thought your fighting days were over."

The girls were not nearly so jovial as he was.

"You remember you owe me one wish, right, Zero?" called Venus.

"Of course, that's why I'm here," he said casually.

"Well, here it is. I hope you'll honor your word, Zero…" she began, "because my wish… is for you to leave this world forever."

A deafening silence pierced the tranquil forest grove. The lack of speech spoke volumes. Zero needed a moment to process… this was not a joke.

"Your wish… is to end our contract?" he asked.

"We never want to see you again," she declared. Three of the others nodded in concurrence.

"I… I see…" Zero sounded hurt. "I can say… I really wasn't expecting this. Even so…" He contemplated, deeply, taking a deep breath and regathering his composure. He was all business, now. "What if I were to say that wasn't a valid wish?"

"Then…" Venus took her stance. "…the five of us are prepared to fight you, Zero." Again, three of the others joined her in their battle-ready positions. Zero remained silent. All he could do was stare at the girls, blankly, for the very first time, uncertain of how to respond to the situation he had been presented with.

What was clear, at least, was that he was not leaving. After a fair amount of time had passed, the call went out. The girls sprang into action.

"Bubble Spray!"

A thick fog covered the hilltop at Mercury's command, blocking all visibility. The girls were confident enough in their teamwork that this would give them an edge over their foe.

"I knew this was going to be a trial for all of you…" Zero murmured to no one in particular. He did not move from his position, but rather hung there in the air, somberly.

"Supreme Thunder!"

Jupiter launched her attack, hoping to capitalize on the moisture in the atmosphere. The burst of lightning dissipated flaccidly against Zero's body, to no effect.

"…I even knew, going in, there was the possibility that I could be made a villain, despite my intentions…"

He continued mumbling to himself, unabated.

"Crescent Beam!"

A bright ray of light shot a hole clean through the fog, causing it to spiral outward under the force of the beam's energy. Venus's attack hit its mark dead on, but Zero was again unaffected.

"But I never thought… not once…"

"Fire Soul!"

From behind, a large fireball tore through the night, erupting in a shimmering display of pyrotechnics around Zero. Mars watched in frustration as the flames subsided on an unscathed enemy.

"…I never thought that you would all go this far."

"Damn it! Nothing's working!" Jupiter cursed.

"Moon! We need your help! It's the only way!" cried Mars.

Sailor Moon stood there, herself confused and uncertain about what to do in this situation. She knew, for her friends, she needed to help them fight, but… why was there still doubt lingering in her mind? Why did she hesitate? Was it just because he wasn't fighting back?

"She's not budging, girls…" Venus relented. "Hit him again!"

"Supreme Thunder!"

"Crescent Beam!"

"Fire Soul!"

A brilliant display of firepower, but no effect. Zero didn't even seem to notice that he was being attacked; he was too deeply lost in contemplation, floating in a depressed slouch just inches off the ground. Moon fared little better.

"Usagi… snap out of it!" Mercury called angrily. She was not the most combat-effective of the scouts, and usually played the role of intelligence gatherer… but the only conclusion she could come to after seeing how much their previous attacks had affected Zero was not one she wanted to think about.

"We need you!" Rei called.

Usagi bit her lip. She didn't want to do it. What's more, she knew it wouldn't make a difference, but… faced with such an impossible choice…

 _My… friends… they need me…_

"Do it! Now!"

"M-Moon… Tiara…"

The words came out like molasses, and before she could utter the last of her mantra, a bright light enveloped the area, blinding all five of the scouts as they turned their eyes away. It took several seconds for the effects to subside, returning the mountaintop to its peaceful daytime serenity.

The scouts were alone. Zero was gone.

* * *

Usagi shuffled home from school. Ever since the big melee, she'd been feeling unusually depressed. She'd always had a hard time dealing with any of the really big conflicts, like the Dark Kingdom business she shuddered to remember… even the final confrontation with Zero hadn't been quite that dramatic, but it had been almost a week since it had happened and she still didn't feel like it had really given her any closure.

Zero was still out there. He could appear again at any time. He hadn't promised to leave, or to end their contract. They hadn't beaten him. He had just… disappeared. What bothered her more than that, though… she could tell that he had been just as troubled as she had been during the fight. Neither of them had wanted to be there. Neither of them wanted it to happen.

Maybe that was why Usagi had felt a kind of kinship with Zero. Even after all the terrible things he had made them do, even after all the abuse, she knew she had seen something inside of him that the others hadn't. He'd said the same thing about her, too… that there was something inside Usagi they didn't see, something even she didn't see.

These kinds of thoughts had haunted Usagi for days, never allowing her poor mind any rest. The others would just as soon never speak of Zero or his "contract" again—they were just happy he was gone. Usagi was utterly alone in her concerns.

Off with her shoes and upstairs to her bedroom, Usagi didn't really feel like doing anything. She wasn't sure how she would spend the next hour or so… until she set foot in her bedroom.

There, in the middle of the room, stood a familiar figure once again.

"Z… Zero?"

"Don't worry," he said in a defeated tone of voice. "I'm not here to do anything. In fact, I was just on my way off."

"Off?"

"Off to the next world I may visit," he explained. "You'll never see or hear from me again. It's just…" He paused. "You were the one I wanted to see one last time."

"You wanted… to see me?"

Usagi realized she must sound silly, repeating his statements back to him as questions, but she didn't know how else to respond. This wasn't an encounter she had planned for.

"I wanted to talk to you about everything that happened. Maybe have a chance to explain myself. That is… if you'll let me."

He was so remissive, apologetic. This was so unlike him. At least… it was unlike what she thought she knew about him.

"Okay, then," Usagi started, in a gentle, almost motherly tone. "Why'd you do all that? All of… everything? You must've had a reason."

Zero closed his eyes and contemplated for a while. He looked very serious, doing so.

"I don't know if you'll understand all of this, but…" he began. "Have you ever considered how much of your society revolves around shame?"

"Around… shame?"

"Don't let people see this part of you, this fold, that flab, this hair, that blemish… hide your imperfections, your deviations," he listed. "But it doesn't stop there, at the deviations. Hide your normalcies, too—the things that everyone else feels, and also hides. Hide your libido, hide your interests. Even if you're a shining model of beauty, hide your confidence and your sense of self-worth, or people will consider you narcissistic. Hide, cover, avoid. Don't let others see the truth, the real you."

"I guess when you put it that way, but… even so, those are all pretty normal things to keep private, right?" Usagi asked.

"But why do they have to be?" Zero posited. "Why should anyone feel ashamed of who they are? You don't choose the body you're born with, so why is it something you should be blamed for?"

"I guess… huh… I never thought of it like that."

"When it comes right down to it, shame does everybody a lot more harm than it's ever done good," Zero concluded. "There are so many negative feelings in the world spawned from a society built around shame. My ideal world is a world where nothing is hidden—where everyone can be themselves, whatever that entails, and not be needlessly judged for their differences."

"I think that's what a lot of people would want," said Usagi.

"They do, of course. Everyone does. What humans don't realize, though, is that their own habits are the reason this sort of world isn't a reality. The same people who boast about how they never judge people will jump at the chance to criticize when the opportunity arises. It's easy for someone to claim to be open-minded, but humans hate change. It's only natural for them to shut down what is new, to push away what is unfamiliar and different, usually without ever thinking about why it is they're doing it. It's just human nature to take the easy route and side with what you know, rather than consider an alternative."

"So what do you do about it?"

"I thought, 'If I can just spark something, in one community, it will introduce the idea to the world, show the humans that an honest world where nothing is hidden is truly possible.' I wanted to do this in every world I visit, and… to tell you the truth… this was my first attempt."

"And how does humiliating all of us make the world a better place, exactly?" Usagi said this with a weary, sarcastic tone.

"The goal was never to humiliate you, it was to force you out of your comfort zone. I wanted give you a taste of this world of mine."

"A world of weird sex acts?"

"I… may have gotten a little carried away, I'll admit."

"You think?"

"…but there was a purpose. Sexuality is the most needlessly repressed and shamed part of your human culture. It was the obvious choice for starting a movement."

"All it would have done was make us all laughing stocks."

"If there's one thing humans are exceptional at, it's adapting to change—even if they can't stand it," Zero defended. "In time, the novelty would have worn off, and people would have come to accept nudity as normal. It would feel natural to not be hiding anything, to wear your heart on your sleeve."

"But _you_ wear clothes."

"I was worried that if I showed up naked for our very first meeting, it would be hard for you to take me seriously," he admitted.

"I'll bet you could've come up with something. Besides, we'd _adapt_ , right?"

Zero laughed. "I suppose so." He immediately began undressing.

"Buh… I-I wasn't talking about right now!"

"I was going to take them off before leaving this world, anyway. Otherwise they'll get destroyed in transit."

"Is… is that how it works?" Usagi stammered, and blushed awkwardly. Even after she'd spent so much time with Zero, seeing a young man's naked form was still very new to her.

"It's a lot more comfortable for me this way, that's for sure," he said, stretching himself unintentionally sexily. Usagi glanced at the floor, and Zero immediately took notice of her attempt to hide the interest in him.

"There you go," he criticized, cheekily. "Trying to act like you're not curious."

"Sh… shut up!" the embarrassed Usagi shouted back.

There was a long silence between them, as the mood fell still and the conversation seemed to take an indefinite hiatus. Each found themselves looking deeply into the other's eyes, trying to read what neither was hiding.

"Why didn't you attack me?" Zero finally asked, dropping the question that had been on both their minds for some time. "You were the only one who didn't."

"I knew… you didn't want to fight us," she answered. "I knew you were a good person."

"Even after all I made you do?"

"I could tell, that time we spoke at the café, after you gave me that bogus fortune…"

"…You knew the fortune teller was me?"

"I recognized your touch," she smiled, forgivingly. Zero was a little embarrassed at another one of his ruses being figured out.

"I knew, though, when we actually sat down and talked together, that was the real you speaking. I didn't really get it at the time, but… you told me all that you were going to do, right then and there. I guess I should have seen it all coming, then."

"Do you think that made it easier for you than the others?"

"I think… if it had just been me… if things had gone just a little bit slower… maybe… I wouldn't have minded going through with whatever it was you had planned," she said.

"You think maybe I moved a little too quickly?"

"Just a bit," Usagi returned with her mothering tone. "Even so, I knew you would be there for me if anything _really_ bad happened… right?"

"Of course I would," he affirmed, gently, moving a step closer. "I meant every word I said about you, back when we first met. I think, that… I think honesty was the way to go. I'll admit, I had a little too much fun with the ways I first encountered your friends, but… I never should have used dishonest means to try to get them into a contract with me. For that… I am sorry."

Usagi shook her head. "It _was_ pretty sneaky… but it was nice for us to not have to fight monsters for a while, even if we didn't exactly get to live normal lives the whole time."

"You'll have to go back to fighting, now. You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah… I guess it's what the others want," Usagi sighed.

Another pause.

"Before I go…" Zero started, "I don't suppose you'd want to go on one last outing with me?"

"What do you mean?"

"We can fly over the town, together. Just the two of us, wind and sun on our skin."

Usagi considered it seriously.

"I've already done my memory cleanup, after everything that the public saw us doing in the park. No one would remember a thing," he told her.

Usagi put on her game face.

"Yeah, okay. Let's go. One last time."

* * *

 **SUBJECTS S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5  
Result: Failure**

It saddens me to report that my initial experiment has been a failure. However, I have learned much from this endeavor. I hope this experience will serve me well in my handling of future subjects.

I had originally theorized that, by taking on a group of subjects with pre-existing ties to one another, the social and psychological impact of the training would be lessened. My hope was that the subjects would feel significantly less stress if they had others undergoing the training with them, but in practice, this only served to incite rebellion.

It saddens me to say this, but it may well be that an isolated subject would prove more manageable. Without external support, perhaps it will be easier to form a bond with the subject myself. Familiarity and trust are important in a master-pupil relationship. I will not go so far as to separate a subject from her friends, but it may be best if the friends were not immediately involved in the training.

Another variable that proved problematic in this experiment was the methods of contract. My intention was to exploit each suspect's individual weakness so as to draw out their own hidden desires… S1's weakness for romance, S2's scientific curiosity, S3's overconfidence, S4's interest in sex, or S5's hidden insecurities. Though each of these methods was successful, the intent seemed to go over the subjects' heads, and the only one who understood the existence of the contract was S1, who I explained it to in explicit detail.

Thus, unconditional honesty seems to be the most effective course of action in acquiring and maintaining a cooperative subject.

It should be noted that S1's training was not entirely a failure. I was able to speak with her after the rebellion, and received confirmation that she was not entirely opposed to my training—a small success. I will model my future methods after my dealings with S1.

Having learned from this experience, I feel I must reassess my role as a god. Passion alone is not enough to change mankind. Thus, from this day, I hereby renounce my designation as the god of passion, and instead, claim the title of Zero, god of **truth** and passion.

 **END RECORD**


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